The Evolution of SnowBarry Part II
by Lilteds
Summary: Story based around the Flash TV Show, follows the show but with a heavy Snowbarry story line. Based on Season 2... Read Evolution of SnowBarry for Season 1.
1. Back Again

_**Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait but hopefully with the first chapter of Part II it would be worth it! Hope you guys enjoy!**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own the Flash nor its characters.**_

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

Barry jolted awake. His chest heaving, his heart rate racing, he was breathless. As Barry took in his surroundings he settled back down on the mattress, his hair sticking to his forehead as his body was dampened with sweat. It was the same dream again. The same nightmare. His breathing evening out, Barry threw away his covers sitting edged up on the side of his bed unable to find sleep again. As the beg sagged as he pushed himself of the bed, Barry threw on his clothes and sped out of his apartment.

Needing the air, Barry ran through the empty streets of Central City. For the most part, the city seemed to be asleep, a light with the bright street lights that guided him to his destination. With the wind and power rushing past his face Barry could help but get engulfed in his own thoughts. Thoughts of who he was… where's been and questioning where he was going.

Barry Allen was the fastest man alive. When he was a child he saw his mother killed by something impossible. His father went to prison for her murder. Then an accident made him the impossible. And he became the Flash. He used his powers to find the man responsible for his mother's death. He thought that he'd finally get justice for his family. But he failed. It's been six months, since the singularity, six months since I lost everything. He was on his own now and decided that it was better that way. It kept the people he cared about… people he loved safe. There was only one thing he could do now… he continued to _run_.

* * *

* _Crime Scene*_

As morning broke through the horizon, and the sky was painted in pastel shades of yellow and orange, Barry stopped himself to join the police at a new crime scene. With people starting to gather around the scene, obviously taking a break from their morning routes to work in order to fulfil their curiosity and seek out some office gossip, Barry sighed heavily as he tore through the crowd of strangers towards the victim.

Rolling his kit off his shoulders to the ground, Barry knelt by the victim and began examining the scene. As Barry gathered evidence and drew theories, his attention focused aggressively at the task at hand in attempt to keep his mind off whom and what had been keeping him up at night. Barry didn't know how much time had passed, that he hadn't known when Joe had gotten to the scene until he heard his familiar voice break through the abundant sounds of police chatter on radios and the incessant buzzing of onlookers and reporters hungry for information.

"How's it going?" Joe asked with and eager ear for an update in how his son was coping.

"Hey. Good." Barry said curtly as he kept his attention to the body in front of him.

"How you doing?" Barry added after clearing his throat.

"Good."

With his eyes peeling up for a short glance at Joe, Barry nodded genuinely happy, that Joe was doing alright before yanking his head back down.

Barry could feel as the awkward tension began to rise between them. Barry's eyes flickered around him, uncharacteristically he began seeking out escape routes when Joe began to speak.

"So the victim's name is Al Rothstein. He was a wielder here at the nuclear plant. Co-worker found him her this morning." He said reading off his notepad.

Barry listened attentively as Joe relayed over the witness statements, his legs aching in the process from squatting still by the body. For some reason Barry thought it'd be better if he didn't move. And for that same reason he didn't know why it was a good one. Nevertheless he remained where he was.

"So what you got?"

"Uhhh peticia on his face and the whites of his eyes and this bruising around his neck." Barry relayed over the evidence as he pointed towards the victim neck and face.

"So he was strangled?"

"Ahem." Barry concurred as he stood up stretching out his legs.

"By someone very strong and very large" he prompted.

"Or _something_." Joe teased the last word as he looked pointedly at Barry.

"Wh- This wasn't Grodd." Widening his eyes at what Joe was insinuating, Barry shook his head in disagreement.

"Oh thank god."

Barry looked over to Joe as his chest fell in relief. Clearing his throat Barry, leaned down to gather up his things before leaving.

"Hey, look I'll let you know when I find more." He mumbled as he threw his kit over his shoulder.

Before Barry could make his escape, Joe caught him, his voice pulling him back into conversation.

"So this Flash Day thing... I'm hoping your planning on making an appearance."

"Uh, I haven't decided." Barry muttered not avoiding Joe's scrutiny.

"Bar- I heard the mayor was planning on giving you the key to the city." Joe emphasised.

"I don't need an award." Barry said flatly tilting his head up to look Joe square in the eye.

"You love getting awards, like all those science trophies you got in high school."

"Those I deserved. I'll let you know what I find alright?" Barry said his lips set in a firm grim line before leaving almost immediately.

"Alright." Barry heard Joe whisper behind him.

* * *

* _Jitters_ *

Barry worked hard and fast. Fixing what he had broken, he found that in the quiet of the night he felt he was actually doing something to help this city. Since the singularity occurrence, Barry hadn't felt as much as a hero as everyone had saw him. So fixing local business he felt as though was the first step to try and earn the right to _that_ hero. It wasn't much but he thought it was as much as he could do.

Coming to a halt, Barry dusted off his hands as he looked around surveying how much more he needed to fix. Suddenly the screeching of the back door opening, Barry snapped his head in the direction to find Iris dodging the mess around the room as she made her way towards him.

"You know if you ever decide you don't want to be the Flash… you have a good future in being a contractor." She teased lightly as she stopped before him.

Barry smiled weakly at the joke, although more than anything he had been feeling more like a handy man than a hero.

"Thanks. Yeah I'm just trying to ah put it all back exactly how it was before th—you know." He coughed, clearing out his throat to try and break the rising tension.

Unable to look at her straight in the eye, Barry turned away and began to busy himself with clearing up the mess he had created.

"Seems like a lot of local businesses are being re-built at night. _In secret."_ She hinted as she tilted her head to the side to look at him.

Barry didn't answer. Instead he just shrugged his shoulders.

"I was thinking about writing an article about it for the paper." She continued.

The comment caught Barry's attention. Immediately turning towards her, Barry noticed she was slightly a taken back by his sudden movement.

"Don't. Please." he begs her exasperated.

"Look, people have heard the stories. They've read the articles. They may have seen the red streak racing past them. But they have never seen the Flash… Barry." She stressed as her eyes darted between his eyes serious about writing the article.

Barry's face grew slightly dark.

"So that's why you're here? You came to talk me in to going to the rally cause I'm—I'm not going to go." He said flatly, his voice hinting that there was to be no argument.

"People just want to thank the man that saved Central City." She defended.

"Well they can't because that's not me. You… Caitlin… you should know that better than anyone!" Barry objected stepping back feeling heavy from the guilt left from that day.

Iris didn't respond. She knew he was right. It was the reason he was pushing everyone away. So that he wouldn't lose any more people he cared about. He made a promise.

Barry watched in silence as Iris rummaged through her purse pulling out a folded piece of paper and handing it to him.

Barry unfolded the paper and looked down. In a bright colours of red, yellow and orange was a public invitation to welcome and celebrate the man who ' _saved'_ Central City. _Him._ The Flash. Barry's hands gripped the paper tighter as he read the lies. He knew… she knew it wasn't true. He wasn't the hero that day. Eddie was. Ronnie.

"Central City believes in the Flash."

"And so do I." she finishes before leaving him alone and back in the silence of his thoughts… thoughts of that day.

* * *

 _*Flashback*_

Barry continued to run even though his legs began to ache. He pushed through the pain. If he stopped everyone he knew…. Everyone he didn't would die.

"Barry it's working keep doing what you're doing!"

"I don't think I can. Cisco!" Barry shouted back his voice tense as he pushed through the immense pain in his legs.

Through muffled voices he heard breaking through the coms, Barry tired hard to concentrate on their voices. Anything that could help tear him away from the pain. But it was useless. He could understand a thing that they were saying. When the voices died, and all Barry could hear was silence and his own ragged breathing in the chaos he was in, Barry didn't even notice until he felt the heat. All of sudden they were there in the middle of the storm with him. _No!_ Barry screamed as F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M looked down to him with a small smile.

"Keep her safe." Their voice echoed to him.

Barry knew it was Ronnie talking to him. _No!_ Before he could do anything, before he could say anything, they tore the splicer off their chest creating an explosion that threw Barry out. As the singularity began to dissipate and all the remains of torn buildings and wrecked cars fell around him, Barry's eyes strained for any sign of Ronnie and Dr Stein. Through all the falling debris Barry's eyes caught Stein falling unconsciously below him. Finding the last surge of energy Barry raced towards him, catching him as they fell back down towards the ground. Barry drew a sharp deep breath as he increased his momentum as they fell. He forced the electricity in his body to burn through to every muscle in his body, pushing them down at a speed that will bring them down safely. As his feet found solid ground Barry, skidded to a halt crashing them to a stop against the building's concrete walls. Barry knelt over Stein, reaching out, seeking out his pulse. Barry closed his eyes in relief as he felt a thread of a beating under his touch. With Stein okay, Barry tore his eyes back towards the sky, frantically searching for Ronnie. _Where are you? Where are you goddamit!_ He shouted to himself as his eyes scoured the clearing sky.

As Stein stirred, Barry snapped back to check on him. Stein looked around him.

"Ronald?"

Barry stomach dropped. He couldn't say anything. He just shook his head.

In the next moment, Iris… Joe and Caitlin came running to meet them. Barry's heart clenched as he saw the sight of Caitlin come running into his arms. She peeled herself away immediately her eyes drifting from him, to Stein and back. Her eyes searched his. His heart fell as without a word she knew his answers. Ronnie didn't make it. Her eyes filled with tears she couldn't contain. She shook her head in ignorance.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, taking her into his arms and holding her while she wept. In that moment he knew he couldn't forgive himself. He had hurt her again. In that moment, he knew if he was going to respect and keep Ronnie's promise to keep her safe, he'd have to let her go. He'd have to push everyone he loved away. For her sake and for everyone he cared about.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

 _*Mercury Labs*_

Caitlin busied herself with work fighting every instinct, every urge she had to be by Barry's side the rally. When she saw him down at the rally she had to stop herself from running to him. Unsure if he was hurt or not she had to believe that he was okay. It was the only thing she could do, to get her through the day.

"So this is what it looks like inside Mercury labs." A familiar voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

Looking up from her desk, Caitlin spun around to see Cisco, her friend smiling broadly at her as he entered the room.

Caitlin couldn't contain the smile that spread across her face. She was genuinely glad to see a familiar face. Admittedly, she now had the opportunity to see how Barry was doing.

"Security is way better here than it was at S.T.A.R Labs with what people walking in and out of the cortex all the time." Cisco laughed.

"Hi Cisco." Caitlin replied with ease.

"Sweet ceric is that a 6K proton splicer?" For a split of a second, Cisco's attention was called to a machine shelved deep in the wall. Caitlin couldn't help but laugh.

"Yes it is. Dr McGee insists on having all the latest technology." She smiled gleefully.

Caitlin's eyes followed Cisco as he eyed the piece of machinery lovingly. She watched as he breathed out and turned to face her once again.

"Woah! You deserve it!" He said genuinely.

"I spotted you. At the rally today... And I'm guessing you saw what happened." He prompted.

"Cisco. I can't come back." She replied shaking her head, her eyes drawn to the floor.

"Okay, check this out. We found this on a victim at the nuclear power plant. But the badge shows absolutely nothing. Nothing at all, which is _soo_ weird. What's also weird is that the same time that metahuman grew all the x-ray machines in a mile radius went belly up..." he continued to babble.

"Cisco..." Caitlin cocked her head to the side as she said his name. She couldn't go back and he knew why.

"Just… if you could just see if the badge was tampered with or something. I mean if it's broken or whatever… It would really help." He pleaded. His eyes practically begging.

Caitlin looked into that puppy dog eyes. There was no way she could say no. As she bit down on her bottom lip contemplating what she should do, she huffed out in defeat and turned away to grab some equipment.

Behind her she could practically feel Cisco silently jumping with glee. As she grabbed something off the shelf, she took a moment before spinning around and jumping Cisco with the burning question she needed answered.

"How is he?" she said her voice almost audible.

Caitlin's eyes searched Cisco's as he looked at her somewhat surprised it took this long to ask.

She held her breath as she waited for an answer. Cisco looked away, his face slightly dropping as he spoke.

"He's okay. Still the same. Determined to do things on his own. Stubborn as hell. But okay." He finished.

Caitlin let out a long breath of relief. At least she could relax now that she knew he was okay.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

 _*CCPD Lab*_

Barry stared absentmindedly before as the world around him continued to spin. Barry's mind was so full of thought and memories that he couldn't even think clearly. He couldn't hold onto one thought before another pushed its way across before his eyes.

 **"** Mr Allen? Barry Allen?" A strange voice called to him.

Blinking rapidly, Barry pulled himself out of the darkness he had been reliving, to set his eyes upon a sturdy man in a grey suit. With his hands on either side of his chair, Barry used them as support as he pushed himself up off the chair greeting the man with a firm handshake.

"Yeah." Barry confirmed as he asset the guy in front of him. Barry watched him carefully as the man introduced himself cordially.

"I'm Greg Turk. I'm an attorney at Weathersbe and Stone. I don't usually make house calls but I've been trying to get in touch with you for several months." He explained as he spoke casually with one of his hands as the other was shoved deep in his pocket.

"Ugh yeah… yeah I'm sorry about that I've just been um I've been really busy with police work." Barry mumbled as he looked around the room indicating the mess that had been amounting on his desk over the past few months.

The man in the grey suit nodded as he took a quick glance around the room before jumping straight to the agenda at hand.

"We need to talk about S.T.A.R Labs. As you know Harrison Wells left the property to you as part of his living trust."

"Yeah ,which I did not ah ask him to do. But I've been keeping the place up." Barry interrupted taking a step back to rest against his desk, growing uncomfortable at the mention of Wells name.

"Well it's going to take more than cleaning the floors to retain it I'm afraid. The facility and the real-estate are scheduled to go into receivership at the end of this week… Unless you watch this." Greg Turk finished pulling out the hand from his pocket and handing Barry an USB drive.

"What is this?" Barry asked flatly holding up the drive between them.

"A video message drafted by Dr Wells." He stated.

"What's on it? Have you seen it?" Barry began to interrogated.

He had no care for what Wells' had to say. He was gone, his dad was still in prison… Eddie was dead and so was Ronnie. Whatever Wells had left him, he didn't want to hear it. It was because of him that _all_ of this happened.

"No. He was very specific. It was _only_ to be watched by you."

"The device will send me a notification after you viewed it. And at that point I'll have everything ready to execute."

"I'm not going to watch that." Barry replied bluntly as he threw the drive on his desk. His eyes never leaving the small piece of metal.

"Well that's up to you Mr Allen. I'm only here to represent Harrison Wells' final request. Good day." Turk finished leaving Barry to deal with heavy mess Wells left behind.

As Greg left and the silence began to settle itself back in the room. Barry stared at the drive, contemplating hard whether to watch the damn thing or to throw it out the window. Barry didn't know how long he was staring, until his computers alerted him to activity at S.T.A.R Labs.

Yanking the drive off the table and into his pocket, Barry flashed straight to S.T.A.R Labs.

* * *

* _S.T.A.R Labs_ *

As Barry skidded to a halt posed ready to attack any intruder, Barry was surprised to see Cisco, Iris, Stein and Joe back in the lab. Relaxing slightly Barry straightened up as he looked sternly around the room, to the people he pushed away to protect. _What were they doing here? Why were they here?_

"What are you guys doing here?" Barry's voice echoed through the once abandoned building.

"Working." Iris stated flatly as she turned back to the computer and Cisco.

"So Caitlin was right?" She responded to Cisco.

Obviously continuing the conversation they were having before Barry speed into the room. With the mere mention of her name, Barry subtly looked around him, his eyes instinctively seeking her out. Barry hadn't seen her since they lost Ronnie. He couldn't bear to look at her, knowing that when she looked at him, she'd blame him. Hell, she had the right to. He blamed himself. He wasn't fast enough. He never was.

"Yes all humans contain small amounts of radiation due to contact with cell phones, microwaves, televisions etc. Our bodies are natural conductors." Stein began to explain.

"I think out meta has been sucking up all the radiation around him and using it to power himself." Cisco finished.

"Which is why the x-ray machines at the hospital failed the day of the rally." Iris nodded as she started to piece things together.

"So if we want to find him we have to look for places without radiation." Cisco piped up.

Barry knew that look all too well. Cisco had an idea on how to find him and as he watched Cisco resume his magic on the computer, he knew he would. If he was going to protect any of them from being hurt, he had to stop them. Stop them from helping him. It only led them to danger.

"Alright guys I—I don't want any of you here right now." Barry said loudly, his body tense with resolve and need to get them out of there.

"Tough. You need your partners. You need your friends." Joe object, stepping out of the shadow of the door frame.

Barry had the urge to roll his eyes, but knew better than to do it. Letting out an exasperated sigh, Barry shoved his hands in his pockets in frustration.

"Barry everyone in this room cares about you. But we also care about this city. We all want to make a difference. And that means fighting metahumans… then that means working with the Flash. You can't deny us that. Not anymore." Iris scolded as she looked blatantly at him.

"Got him! There's a three block dead zone near a hazardous waste reclamation plant. It should be blooming with rads but right now it's at zero." Cisco bellowed as he locked onto a location.

"That's where you'll find your Atom Smasher." Stein said enthusiastically.

Barry saw as Cisco looked at Stein with a neutral expression. He wasn't sure where this was going to lead but he knew it wasn't a good thing when other people named metahumans.

"Be—Because he absorbs atomic power and well he… smashes." Stein defended, looking slightly terrified as Cisco's eyes bore into him.

"Come here." Cisco whispered taking Stein into a crushing hug.

Barry was taken by surprise. Unusual to say the least.

"That's a great name. Welcome to the team." Cisco beamed releasing Stein.

"Thank you." Stein replied humbly.

Barry rolled his eyes. Now they had done what they came to do, he needed them to go.

"Great. Guys thank you um... ca—you can go now alright." He said curtly, trying to usher them back out.

"Barry. You need to let Cisco and Stein figure out a way to stop this guy." Joe cut him off abruptly.

"No I don't." Barry said bluntly before Flashing away in his suit, not before dismantling the communication device and leaving it behind.

If they weren't going to leave then he was.

* * *

* _Hazardous plant_ *

As Barry arrived at the location, he stood looking across the room at Rothstein.

"Well this is a curveball. I thought I was going to have to come looking for you." Rothstein bellowed as he caught sight of Barry.

"I'm not going to let you hurt anyone else." Barry stated.

"I'm only here to hurt you buddy."

"Yeah? Then why did you kill Albert Rothstein? And why do you look like him?" Barry yelled back.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." He replied coyly.

"Ha. Try me." Barry pressed.

"I'm about to." Rothstein smiled as he ran head first towards Barry.

Barry glued himself to the floor as he began to rotate his arms fast in circular motions creating a gust of wind pushing Rothstein back. But as it was not strong enough, Rothstein found ground and began to break through. Barry stopped drawing heavy breaths as he thought about his next course of action. Usually, he'd have Wells, Cisco or Caitlin talking him though what to do but this was solely on him now.

Taking a sharp breath Barry sped forward, lighting a rapid set of punches across Atom Smashers body but it was no use. It had no effect.

With one movement against Barry, Rothstein managed to land a punch across Barry's face, sending him flying backwards.

Barry hit the wall, with unyielding pain throbbing across his face.

"My turn." Rothstein grunted as he lunged his way towards Barry.

Barry coughed as he tried pushing himself off the ground. Before Barry had a chance to re-gain his strength, Rothstein had seize Barry by the throat, clutching him as he brought him up to eye level, Barry's lungs filled with a burning sensation as the air from his lungs dissipated and he struggled to breath. As Atom Smasher tightened his grip around Barry's neck, he continued the attack, pounding his head repeatedly against the solid concrete wall.

Barry was thrown into a brief moment of unconsciousness, as the pain pulled him under. With the same pain intense torture bring him back to consciousness; Barry struggled weakly against his hold, desperate to free himself.

"He said you were some kind of big hero." He joked as he took stock of Barry dis-shrivelled, clawing desperately at his hand, to break through so he could breath.

"But you don't seem worthy of him or this city." He laughed as he primed his hand for another attack.

Suddenly the alarm sirens blaring though the factory distracted Rothstein long enough for Barry to make his escape. Racing back, Barry pushed through the pain fighting the darkness trying to consume him until he reached back to S.T.A.R Labs. As he staggered though the hallway, towards the cortex, Barry felt as his legs gave way before him, causing him to stumble, collapsing to the floor disoriented until his vison blurs and the darkness takes him.

* * *

* _S.T.A.R Labs*_

Barry looked around him. Nothing about where he was felt familiar. It was cold, deserted. _Where was he?_ Everything was silent. There was no noise to anything. No sound to his voice no nothing. Trying not to panic, Barry looked around him suddenly startled as he was no longer by himself. Caitlin stood before him. A warm feeling reassure him that everything was okay just by the sight of her. At a seconds glance, Barry noticed something was wrong. She seemed disconnected. Her eyes were dark and empty. She was yelling at him, tears streaming down her face but Barry couldn't hear her. He couldn't understand what was happening. As he reached out for her, she slipped away. Panic began to rise in his chest as the image of walking away from began to flash before his eyes. Just as he couldn't find his breath Barry woke up calling out her name. _Caitlin._

"You're good. I got you." Joe said concerned as he caught Barry by the wrist.

Barry looked at Joe, his eyes red rimmed close to tears. _It was just a dream._ Barry sighed as he slumped back down onto the pillow his eyes drawn back up towards the ceiling.

"Where is everyone?" Barry whispered fighting the tears.

"I figured you didn't want an audience when you came to." Joe replied watching his son, his brows pulled together in concern.

"Yeah thanks." Barry choked as he found a steady rhythm of his breathing.

"Iris is right. I'm not going to do this anymore. For the past couple of months I've given you space to figure all of this out and come back to us. But today proved that you'd rather just get yourself killed." Joe scolded, his voice rising slightly in anger.

"It's better than getting my friends killed." Barry replied detached.

"You want me to tell you that it wasn't your fault. I can't. It was. But guess what? You weren't the only person making decisions that day… all of the rest of us where there that day too. Eddie… and Ronnie. They chose to help you stop Wells. Stop that..."

"Singularity." Barry finished, finally turning to face Joe.

"Singularity thing. It's on all of us Barry. So stop with this hogging all the blame and regret. We're going to have to live with it. Move on."

Barry nodded as he wiped his hand over his face, washing away the tears. He knew what Joe was saying was right, but he couldn't help it. He had the power to save them, but he just wasn't fast enough. And that… that was on him.

"What do I do now?" Barry whispered, his eyes pleading for advice.

"Well I do know you've been re-building Central City at night. It's all bricks and paint, Maybe you should start to rebuild things that really matter." He prompted.

Barry knew what he meant. Taking a deep breath, Barry stared back up at the ceiling. _Caitlin._

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

Like every other day Caitlin resumed to what her life was now accustomed to… analysing samples… generating chemicals and discovering cures and figuring out equations. For the first time in a long time Caitlin felt she was back to what she worked years off in college for. Pure science.

Sighing, Caitlin worked beside herself in the empty lavatory. As she focused on the sample before her, she froze. She felt the set of familiar eyes boring into her. A faint smile appearing at the corner of her lips, Caitlin spun around knowing exactly who it was. Her heart rate spiked at the sight of Barry leaning against the door frame watching her with cautious eyes.

"What are you doing here?"

"Sorry I should of called or something but I jus—I wanted to see you." He whispered unsure as he took a step forward.

"It's been awhile." She replied back, a small smile breaking across her face.

"Yes Cisco said he saw you at the Flash day celebration. I was surprised." He began as he stepped closer towards her.

Caitlin stood where she was, she resisted every natural urge she had to run to him. It had been months since they last talked. Months since she last saw him. She missed. More than she'd admitted out loud.

"You better than anyone know that… I wasn't the hero that day." He trailed off avoiding her gaze.

Caitlin's muscles tensed at the memory. Watching as Barry looked down towards his feet Caitlin stepped forward, her hand reaching out to him. As her hand grazed his forearm, Barry looked up back at her, his eyes soft and sympathetic.

"Of course you were." She protested, hoping that he could hear the truth in her voice.

He had to know that he was and always had been a hero… and yes, he wasn't alone. She needed him to know he wasn't the one to blame… she was.

"No." Barry objected immediately.

Caitlin sighed but glad he didn't pull away. She watched as Barry took a deep breath. She could sense that he was fighting that guilt that weighed heavily on his conscience.

Caitlin squeezed his arm as he continued to look her in the eye. She couldn't bear him carrying the blame. For one it wasn't his to carry. It was hers.

"Cait- Ronnie died saving me and I should have saved him and I—I'm so sorry." He opened his mouth to speak, his voice lull to a dim whisper.

Caitlin's heart broke as she to the depths of his soul that the death of Ronnie and Eddie's bore against him. Her mouth grew dry as she tried to think of what to say.

"Barry… I know you did everything you could. It wasn't your fault. I don't blame you for Ronnie's death. I blame myself." She confessed, turning away guilty.

"Wha—Why?" Barry stammered surprised by her words.

Caitlin let her arms fall to her side as she took a deep breath, fighting back the tears that began to fill her eyes. As she breathed out, she drew courage before she faced him again.

"When Ronnie first became F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M he asked me to leave Central City and go somewhere where we could have a normal life and again after we got married. But I said no." She said ashamed.

"I couldn't leave S.T.A.R Labs… Dr Wells… _You._ " She cried.

"If I had gone with him… Ronnie would still be alive. Being at S.T.A.R Labs made me think about that every single day."

As soon as the words left her, she felt the weight of the guilt slowly ease off her shoulders. She hadn't told anyone this. She felt as if it were her punishment. A punishment she could only bear on her own.

"Oh. Cait—" Barry stepped forward reaching out for her but immediately stopped.

Caitlin saw his hesitation, she drew the back of her hand to her face to wipe away her tears and in attempt to hide the disappointment in her face.

"Here." He whispered handing her a handkerchief.

"Oh, you carry a handkerchief now? What are you like 80?" she laughed as she appreciatively took it from him.

As her hand reached out to take it from him, her fingers slightly grazed his, sending electricity burning though her body. She was surprised he still made her feel that way. Sensing he felt it too, Barry withdrew his hand fast dropping something on the floor.

"What's that?" Caitlin sniffed as she peered down through wet lashes.

"Um it's a—apparently in the case of his death, Wells had some kind of living will." Barry explained as he bent down picking up the USB drive.

Caitlin watched as his hands clenched tight around the little piece of metal.

"And you haven't watched it yet?" she smiled as she looked at him.

"No. Nah I've been too afraid." He confessed.

Reaching out, Caitlin placed her hand over his fist.

"What if we watched it together?"

Barry looked at her, his gaze penetrating to see right to her soul. Without their eyes leaving each other, Barry nodded, releasing his hand over the drive, handing it over as he curled his fingers with her.

Caitlin gave his hand a reassuring squeeze as she led him over to her desk.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

As the video began to play, Barry snuck a quick glance over at Caitlin who was watching him intently. She gave him a warm smile. As she looked up at him, it seemed to settle the uneasiness he was felt in the pit of his stomach. Tightening his fingers around hers, Barry turned back to the screen.

 _"Hello Barry. If you're watching this, then something has gone horrible wrong. I'm dead. And that means the last 15 years… have been for nothing. Bummer. 15 years. And what I've realize in all those years, helping raise you… we were never truly enemies Barry. I'm not the thing you hate. And so I'm going to give you the thing you want most. It won't matter. You won't be truly happy. Barry Allen. Trust me. I know you. Now erase everything up to this point and give the following message to the police. My name is Harrison Wells. Being of sound mind and body I freely confess to the murder of Nora Allen in her home on the night of March 18 in the year 2000. I attacked Nora All—"_

"Oh my god! He confessed." Caitlin gasped as her hand clench tighter around Barry's.

"This is it. This is what I need to free my dad." Barry muttered in shock.

Spinning around Barry looked towards Caitlin gleaming with joy. This was it. This was finally it. Barry shot of his chair grabbing Caitlin by the shoulders and hurling her into his arms. As Barry pulled back he saw as Caitlin beamed brightly back at him, sharing in the same joy as he was in. With his arms still tightly around her waist Barry took her head into his hands and kissed her. Before he knew what he was doing, before he could stop himself he felt her kiss him back.

In that moment, Barry felt as the world around them seized to exist. The troubles and dangerous of their world were at a standstill and it was just the two of them. As her lips moved with his, Barry could see everything pulling back into place. He was back where he belonged.

When they finally broke away, Barry let his lips linger over hers. His eyes remained closed, scared that if he opened them she'd be gone.

"I should call Joe." He whispered, his eyes still closed and his hands still holding her to him.

"I'll drive." She replied against his lips.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

Caitlin surveyed the room around her as they all waited impatiently for Barry and Joe to get back. As her eyes looked over everything that was once so familiar, she took in a deep breath thinking how as much as she had tried to forget this place, she knew that there was no escaping something was a strong part of her life. In more ways than one, this place, the people had brought her refuge, security, a family, loss and love. As she reminisced over the many memories that have moulded her into who she had become today, Barry had strolled back in with an undeniably large grin on his face.

"Is it good news?" she said hopeful.

Barry stopped in front of them all as he responded with a renewed sense of hope and trust in the world.

"I think so." He smiled.

"Henry's coming home?" Iris cried happily taking Barry into a tight embrace.

Caitlin smiled whole-heartedly at Barry. She couldn't have been happier for him. He finally got what he always dreamed. That he had fought so hard to get. He was getting his dad back.

Caitlin watched him as he took Iris' hug, his eyes never leaving Caitlin's. As Iris stepped away, wiping away the tears from her eyes, Barry looked around the room.

"Okay well that still leaves Atom Smasher to deal with." He huffed out clapping his hands together.

"Last time you faced him it did not go well." Professor Stein commented.

Caitlin's expression turned tense, she had heard from Cisco how badly Barry got injured the last time he faced Rothstein.

"No. It did not. I clearly can't beat him by myself. So how we beat him?" He prompted.

Caitlin's mind was turning. She had an idea. Ever since Cisco had shown up at Mercury Labs seeking her help, she couldn't stop thinking about it.

"Well ever since I was shown a drained security badge… thank you Cisco." She rolled her eyes at Cisco before turning back to face Barry.

"You're welcome Caitlin." Cisco replied smugly.

"If this guy likes radiation so much… I saw we give it to him." She said boldly as she straightened up proudly as they all agreed with the plan.

While Cisco beaconed everyone over to create a plan around Caitlin's idea, Barry shuffled forward towards Caitlin.

"Hey… Can we talk?"

"Yeah." She nodded with a smile.

As Barry led them down the hall and out of ear shot, he turned back around to face her.

"So about that kiss…" the both said at the same time.

Both of their faces broke into a smile.

"You first." She whispered to him.

"Cait—I love you." He blurted out unapologetically.

"I always have. Still do. I…I can't imagine my life without you. I want you back but I know I don't deserve you." He trailed off.

"Bar—" Caitlin began stepping forward before Barry cut her off.

"Cait, every day I fight the fact that I can't be with you because I made a promise. And for the past few months I've kept it…"

"Promise? What promise?" She asked surprised.

Barry took a deep breath before continuing.

"Before… Before Ronnie died I promised him I'd keep you safe."

"So you pushed me away. You pushed all of us away." She mumbled finally realizing the reason behind his distance.

"I had to. It was because of me that he died. I wasn't fast enough to save him."

"Barry you did everything you could. I don't blame you. It's not your fault. It was Ronnie's choice to rush in there. Just like it's mine to be here now with you… beside everyone… fighting to save this city. Barry you can't make that choice for them. You can't push us away and do everything by yourself because you decided. We're here because we want to be." Caitlin argued taking him into her hands and forcing him to look at her.

"I get that now." He whispered putting his hand over hers.

"Umm and about what happened earlier… I know what I want, I guess what I'm asking is do you still feel the same way or was I right to let you go?" Barry stuttered nervous to hear her answer.

"You were right." She said flatly.

Caitlin noticed as Barry froze. She could tell her was slightly a taken back by her answer. And before he could get the wrong idea she continued.

"I did need that time, time to grieve. I blamed myself for his death and that's why I couldn't stay. The place… here reminded me about the decision I made… But I've just realized that it was his choice to be there with me and none of us are to blame for it. You made me see that. Because it's my choice to stay now. And there's nothing you can do about it." She smiled.

"Yes, you were right but I still love you Barry. That hasn't changed. I guess that… I never really had a choice in." Caitlin felt as Barry's smile stretched across his face as he pressed into hands.

"There's just one more thing I need to know…" he whispered his voice light and cautious.

Caitlin nodded as she noticed Barry's eyes darkened with intensity.

"Cait—I can't do this if you're going to run at the next sign that says our future isn't ours." He confessed breathless.

"If today… if the past year and half or you has taught me is that nothing is certain. Especially the future… Including ours… But I know as long as I have you by my side… I'm certain anything is possible" she reassured him.

And if she didn't think his smile couldn't get any bigger, she was proven wrong. Barry stepped forward, his arms snaking around her waist as he pulled her up against him lifting her off the floor. Caitlin giggled as she looked down at him, her hair creating a curtain around their faces. As the tension built up between them, Caitlin smile slowly faded as she leant down and placed her lips on his.

"Just promise me you won't leave me. I don't think I could survive if you—" she pleaded against his lips.

"That I can promise you. I'll keep you safe. I promise. I love you." He said between kisses.

"Always." She replied as she kissed him back.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

Barry waited impatiently by the massive overheating light. With the signal in the sky it would only be a matter of time before Rothstein showed up.

"What's up? I see you got my message. If you want me… you're going to catch me." Barry toyed before racing off for Rothstein to follow.

"Dude it's working, Rothstein's following you." Cisco bellowed over the coms.

Barry came to a stop at the abandoned nuclear site, as he waited for Rothstein to catch up with him. Breaking through the silence, the floor beneath his feet shook as Atom Smasher came crashing through the ground beneath.

"Didn't think I could catch you huh?" He sneered.

"No. I knew you could." Barry whispered to himself as he raced into one of the small containment booths.

When Rothstein chased in after him, Barry took a second before tricking him inside and leaving him locked within.

"NOW CISCO!" Barry yelled over once he was out.

Through a small circular window, Barry watched from the safety of being on the outside, as Caitlin's plan was put into action and Rothstein was attacked with a large dose of radiation.

With uncontrollable amounts of radiation being absorbed, Barry watched as Rothstein was rendered harmless on the inside.

"The radiation has been cleared its safe for you to go in." Cisco relayed over after a moment passed.

As the doors opened, Barry stepped in kneeling beside Rothstein careful for any sudden movements.

"Sorry I couldn't let you hurt anyone else." Barry explained.

"Why? Why did you want to kill me?" He pressed.

"He—He promised he'd take me home… if I killed you." Rothstein choked.

"Who? Who promised you that?"

" _Zoom_."

* _IRON HEIGHTS*_

After an eventful night with little to no sleep, Barry waited restlessly for his father. Barry had waited years for this day to happen and he finally did it. He was getting his family back. As the gates buzzed open and Barry saw his father emerge from the other side, Barry didn't wait for a seconds heartbeat to race into his father's arms.

"Let's go home." His father beamed as he took his son into a tight embrace.

"I'll race you." Barry teased as he nestled into his father's shoulder.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

* _West Residence*_

As the door opened Caitlin raised her hands as they all shouted a warm hearted "Welcome Home!"

With champagne being popped open and cake being dispensed into any free hand, Caitlin watched happily as Henry made his rounds of hug as cheerful hellos. Barry eagerly followed his dad around the room, excited to finally have his father in arms reach without any type of metal or glass between them.

When everyone's stomachs ached from eating so much cake, Professor Stein gathered everyone into the living room. Caitlin stepped down settled herself behind the couch as Barry joined her, throwing his arm around her shoulders and pulling her gently to him. Caitlin felt at home as she snuggled to his side.

"Gather round everyone please." Stein began.

"Looking at all of you… thinking how far we've all come and remembering and those who are no longer with us. I am reminded of a Hebrew word that was used in times of graduation. _Kadima_. It means forward…" Stein toasted raising his glass.

"Forward." He repeated.

Everyone in the room took a moments paused before they all gathered up their glasses and toasted to their future.

" _Forward."_ They said in unison.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

Taking a sip from his glass, Barry cocks his head to the side, catching a glimpse of his father stepping away. Kissing Caitlin's forehead Barry excused himself and followed his father to the side.

"You good?"

"Yeah... the stuff goes to your head after being away from it for 14 years."

"Yeah I bet. Umm alright look, I was thinking how about in the morning we start looking for an apartment for the two of us… cause my apartment isn't exactly… and Iris has been doing some research in how you could get your medical license back. You can start your practice or come and work with us at S.T.A.R Labs?" Barry said excitedly but taking his father's silence he grew concerned.

"What's wrong you okay?" he asked, his brows pulling together.

"It's a party we can talk about this tomorrow. Come on."

"Talk about what?" Barry pressed.

"Barry…"

"Are you not planning on sticking around?" He whispered, his heart stopping as he already knew the answer.

"Okay, okay. Do you think… can you be all that you are becoming with me here?" His father said seriously.

"Ha… you're the only family I have left." Barry whispered into almost a cry.

"Well that's not really true is it? Don't you have another family in this room? They need your help too. When you need me I will be here. But right now Central City doesn't need you to be Henry Allen's son… it needs you to be the Flash. My kid. The superhero." Henry said proudly as he placed his hands on Barry's shoulders.

"I have to go. I need you tell me it's okay?" he added in a whisper.

Barry looked into his father's eyes and knew that he would be being selfish for telling his father to stay. But could he blamed for needing his father. He had waited years for his family. And his father was ready to leave. Barry closed his eyes tight for a second before opening them.

"Alright." He cried his face saddened as his father smiled weakly before taking his son into his arms.

* * *

* _Train Station*_

As the station bustled with people boarding and leaving the station, Barry was distracted by the reality of it all. His dad was really leaving. And if he was going to be honest. It hurt.

"Now tell me, are you going to do something about that doctor of yours?" his father's voice broke through his thoughts and pulled him back to the present.

Barry smiled shyly the colour flooding to his cheeks.

"Uh. I don't know dad. We just got back together. But-" He whispered.

"No buts kid. Fight for her. If I can leave you anything before I go is this…" Barry watched as his father held out a small box before him.

"Mom's ring. Where di-"

"I wanted to see the part of your life I missed." He confessed about sneaking up to Barry's childhood room.

"This world, the future… it isn't how we expect it. You of all people should know that by now. So be the man I know you are and do right by her and never let her go."

Barry nodded.

"Thanks dad." He smiled hugging his father tightly.

"Anytime kid. Remember whenever you need me, I'll be there. I love you son."

"I love you too dad." He whispered as he said goodbye.

* * *

 _*S.T.A.R Labs*_

As the elevator doors opened, Barry stepped out to have Joe waiting for him.

"Your dad get off okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, just dropped him off at the station." Barry mumbled.

"You good?"

"I don't know… I feel like every time I win I still lose." He sighed as he shoved his hands into his pocket.

Barry watched as Joe dug out a keep from the inside of his suit jacket, handing it over to Barry.

"This is not bad." Barry smiled as he toyed with the city's key between his fingers.

"Not bad?" Joe retorted with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah it's pretty cool." Barry laughed as Joe's lips broke into a smile.

"Hey" Caitlin called as she walked towards them, shrugging herself into her coat jacket.

"Hey you ready?" Barry said taking a deep breath.

"Yep."

"You guys… you know what just have fun." He laughed before waving them off.

Caitlin giggled as she reached for his hand, threading his fingers though his and leaned in to kiss him on his lips.

"Let's go home."

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

As Caitlin unlocked the door to her apartment, she staggered into the dark space, leaning over to the side to switch on the lights. She watched as Barry glided in after her, shrugging out of his jacket and tossing over the sofa.

"Hey do you mind starting the fire while I heat up the kettle?" she muttered as she reached over for the mugs in the cupboard up top.

When she didn't hear a reply, Caitlin stepped down from her tippy toes and turned around startled to find Barry right behind her. Taken back, she stumbled back, her back hitting against the counter. As her eyes found its way to his, she took in a sharp breath as she felt the heat rise and the air vanish from the room. Barry didn't make a move, he was slow and teasing. His eyes grew dark with a burning intensity she knew all too well. As he lingered over her, she felt her heart rate spike as his fingers toyed with her as he held her pinned to the counter. Unable to withstand the torture any longer, Caitlin grabbed him by the shirt, pulling him to her. Their lips smashing together in a hungry frenzy. Caitlin felt as Barry's hands guided over her waist and hoisting her up onto the counter. With her hand knotted in his hair, Caitlin opened her mouth, giving Barry access to explore her mouth as their tongues danced, exploring, teasing.

Pulling apart to get some air, Caitlin looked down at Barry, his eyes yearning with the same carnal desire burning in the pit of her stomach. She locked her legs around Barry's waist as he took her off the counter and guided them towards the couch. His eyes never leaving hers. As he settled her down gently, he hovered over her, staring down into her eyes for a second as if asking for permission, and then as he pulled out one of his arms from under her, he swept her hair out of her face. He smiled and then leaned in to kiss her.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

Half-dressed Barry looked down at her. She seemed so peaceful. It surprised him every day how he got so lucky. Admittedly, it wasn't easy… they had their ups and downs but he knew she was worth the fight. As she breathed silently against his chest, Barry traced gently back and forth across her left hand finger. _She was definitely worth it._ Easing out from under her, careful not to wake her, Barry knelt beside her, wrapping the blanket around her exposed skin. As Barry shimmied back into his jeans, he curled his arms around Caitlin's limp body. He pulled her off the floor, gathering her into his arms. He paused as she stirred, her head nestled in the crook of her neck but she didn't wake. Barry tightened his hands around her as he made his way slowly to her bedroom. Kicking the door open with his foot, Barry manoeuvred his way through the door making sure his steps were light and quiet. Reaching the edge of the bed, Barry eased Caitlin gently onto the sheets careful not to wake her. Barry stood by her side for a moment, he found his happiness in these simple moments. The way she looked without the weight of the world they lived in weighing down on her shoulders. She looked peaceful. He was happy. As he guided the sheet over her body, his fingers slightly grazing against her bare skin, Barry leaned over kissing her ever so slightly on the lips before leaving. Barry smiled down at her as he swept away a loose strand of hair from her face. He turned to leave when the sudden contact of heat curled around his hands. Barry stopped, his eyes guiding down to his hand where Caitlin had intertwined her fingers.

"Where you going?" she said with her eyes half open.

Barry looked back down at Caitlin, who was trying so hard to stay awake. He smiled lazily back at her. _God was she beautiful._ He thought as his heart skipped a beat.

"Nowhere." He whispered.

Caitlin's lips pulled into a small smile as she weakly pulled him back to her.

"Good."

Without letting go of her hand, Barry settled beside her under the sheets as she shuffled over. As Barry laid down, he let go her hand, moving his arm around her as she moved closer resting her head back down against his arm falling back to sleep. Her hand against his chest, Barry pulled her closer to him. Tightening his embrace, Barry nestled into her hair, happy to have her back in his arms. For the first time in forever, Barry felt like he could stop running. He was where he belonged. And with that he fell asleep.

* * *

 _ **So what did you guys think?**_


	2. Friends or Foes

**Sorry haven't updated sooner but here is the next chapter hope you enjoy. Based around season 2 ep 2.**

 **Ps thanks for all those who have reviewed/commented. Means alot to hear your thoughts and feelings. Truly helps me better write the story line.**

 **I sure do hope you like the way I head with this story with the second season.**

 **Disclaimer I do not own the Flash nor its characters**

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

He woke up to the sun blinding him. It was the first time in long time that Barry had found a sense of peace. Rubbing his eyes, someone stirred beside him. Barry turned ever so slightly to find Caitlin nestled by his side. Barry's heart skipped a beat as he saw her, perfectly still. Her head was untamed, strands sticking to her forehead, her cheek pressed against the steady beating of his chest.

In that moment, Barry knew that he could spend the rest of his life waking up to her. Slowly, Barry unearthed himself from under Caitlin careful not to wake her. As he propped up on the bed, Barry leaned over the bed kissing her. She smelt of warmth coconut and soap. He lingered a bit longer, inhaling her scent he briefly loses his train of thought, caught off guard when she suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him back down to her.

"Sneaking away are we?" She giggled her lips brushing lightly against his.

"I didn't want to wake you." He murmured as he hovered over her.

"Ahmm." She teased bringing her lips to his.

"We should get ready. The team's probably already at S.T.A.R Labs." Barry whispered as he stared down at her.

Caitlin's eyes smouldered as she stared heavily back at him. She didn't loosen her grip around him. She smirked cheekily, her eyes giving her away. She had no intention of letting him go.

"I think you run fast enough we can afford to be late." She teased kissing him as she pulled the covers back over the two of them.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

* _S.T.A.R Labs*_

"Hey!" Caitlin greeted as she and Barry entered the room catching the attention of everyone.

"Hey" Joe smiled back as he took stock in the two of them together.

Caitlin happier than she'd ever been, felt as the heat rose to her cheeks. Caitlin looked over to Barry whose grin matched hers. With Barry's fingers tightening around hers Caitlin pulled them further into the room.

"Hoo. Hey guess what… I added a little upgrade to your suit." Cisco bellowed amused at the sight of her and Barry glued together.

Barry laughed happily as he followed Cisco's gaze over to his suit in front of them. Caitlin's gaped at how much more striking the suit looked. She couldn't believe that the smallest detail could create such a big impact. But as she looked at Barry whose eyes lit up like a kid during Christmas, Caitlin knew it was the simple things, like his smile… the small crease between his brows when he was worried that always caught her heart in between beats. Distracted by her thoughts of Barry, Cisco's voice slowly filtered her back to the present.

"It's just like the one from the future newspaper Gideon showed us. I was thinking you know… we shouldn't fear the future anymore right?" Cisco beamed as he took pride in his modification.

"No. And it will be here faster than we think." Barry corrected, his voice lingering with a trace of a promise as Caitlin caught his eyes on her.

"I must say I like how the lightening definitely pops more against the white." Stein admired as they all gathered around the suit.

"And S.T.A.R Labs is now safer than ever. Increased security and surveillance." Caitlin smiled as she shifted her hands in Barry's so their fingers interlocked.

"Recoded double firewall electronic lock sets. Nothing is getting through here without us knowing." Cisco added.

"So people can't just waltz in and out of here." Iris mused.

"Exactly." Cisco concurred.

The room suddenly burst into laughter. As everyone in the room grew into quiet chatter, Caitlin excused herself. As she turned to leave to the bathroom Caitlin gasped loudly at the sudden sight of a tall dark figure emerging from the shadows of the doorframe. In that instant the whole room fell silent as they too turned to face the mysterious stranger. Barry beside her, had grabbed hold of her arm pulling her gently behind him as Joe instinctively pulled out his gun just as Barry stepped forward to confront the stranger.

"For real?" Cisco sighed.

"Stay where you are." Joe yelled.

Caitlin watched as the whole scene before her unfolded. _So much for better security._ She mused to herself.

"Who are you?" Barry called out his body protectively standing firm between her and the man of undecided danger.

"You don't know me. But I know you, _Barry Allen_." The man's husky voice as he stepped forward into the light of the room.

"Take one more step it'll be the last step you take. The man asked you a question who the hell are you?" Joe threatened coxing his gun.

"My name is Jay Garrick and your world is in _danger_."

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

Barry remained silent, his eyes narrowing in suspicion at what Jay was saying. _Who was this guy? And how did he know his name?"_

"Please just let me explain I mean you no harm." Jay began his hands still raised in defence as he stepped forward.

Barry instinctively wedged himself further between Caitlin and this guy named Jay Garrick. Although he didn't seem to present any real threat to them, Barry couldn't take the chance he'd harm them. Not when it came to Caitlin.

"How do you know my name?" Barry pressed his expression stern.

"I know all your names. Caitlin Snow. Cisco Ramon. Detective Joe West –" Jay began listing.

Barry's body tensed at the sound of her name. His lips grew into a grim line.

"Enough. The part about explaining needs to happen right about now." Joe prompted his gun still pointed firmly in Jay's direction.

"This world is in danger." Jay stated.

"What other worlds are there?" Cisco mumbled sceptical.

"When you created the singularity above Central City you also created a breach between my world and yours." Jay began to explain.

"I'm sorry… a breach?" Iris chimed in confused.

"Yes… a portal connecting our two Earths."

"And what precisely is your concern?" Stein interjected.

"A few days ago you found a dead man named Al Rothstein at the nuclear plant but then a different Al Rothstein tried to kill you."

"Atom Smasher." Cisco whispered.

"That man was from my world. If he got through the breach, I'll suspect there would be more to follow." Jay added.

"Okay so… _Jay_ … How exactly do you know all this? Barry asked curtly.

"Where I came from I was a speedster just like you… they called me _the Flash_."

Barry froze at the name. He turned his head around to face Caitlin. Her shocked expression matching his. _He's the Flash?_

Barry's mind was still reeling from what Jay said. _How can he be the Flash?_ _He was the Flash. None of this could be possible._

"Before I arrived on your Earth I was in a fight with a man named Zoom."

"Zoom? I've heard that name before. Atom Smasher said that Zoom sent him here to kill me. Who is this guy?" Barry probed, still trying to gauge who and what type of man Jay Garrick was.

The last time he trusted someone, people died for his misguided faith. He wasn't about to let that happen again.

"He's a speedster like you and me. And fast… maybe the fastest of all but evil. An unstoppable demon with a face of death. We were engaged in our fiercest battle ever racing throughout my city… but I wasn't fast enough to stop him. Zoom had me beat. He was about to kill me when suddenly there was a blinding light in the sky that split open. A breach between my world to yours caused from the singularity. It pulled me in. And I somehow ended up in your world powerless unable to return home."

"What do you mean?" Caitlin asked, stepping forward from behind him.

"I lost my speed." Jay stated without hesitation.

"How?" Barry interrogated still unsure about whether or not this man could be trusted.

There was just something about him… Barry didn't know what but he couldn't trust someone again. Not at the cost of being betrayed and losing those he held close.

"I don't know." Jay whispered his face falling to sadness.

"So you've been in Central City for six months? Why haven't you come to see us before?" Joe interrogated.

"I'm in a foreign world here detective. I didn't know who you all were. It took me that long to piece it all together."

"So that's how you know our names… you've been following us." Iris said sounding violated.

"Look… I know how this sounds. The existence of another world… you… another Flash… it all came as an unexpected shock to me too. I just wish there was something I could do to convince you."

"There is. We're going to do some tests on you… to see if you're telling us the truth. Cause if you're not… this Zoom… will not be your only enemy." Barry threatened as he faced Jay squarely in the eye.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

As Caitlin placed the last probe across Jay's bare chest, Caitlin stepped back, colour flooding to her cheeks as she felt the numerous eyes impatiently watching her from the other side of the glass panelled wall.

Pushing aside the feeling that she was in a fish bowl, Caitlin picked up her tablet as she drew on a casual conversation with Jay.

"So Mr. Garrick. How long have you been the Flash on your world?"

"Not long enough for you to call me mister. Please it's Jay." He smiled as he sat stoically still.

"Jay of course." Caitlin corrected herself, turning back to the data being relayed back to her tablet.

"On my world I've been the Flash for almost two years."

"And how did you get your speed?" Caitlin questioned her voice light and easy going.

"Not sure… I was in my lab trying to purify heavy water from any residual radiation when there was a blinding light, I fell into a coma… when I woke up I could run almost as fast as the speed of light."

Caitlin's eyes widened in surprise, she hadn't expected Jay to be a scientist. He certainly didn't look the part.

"I'm sorry did you say lab? Are you a scientist?" She questioned curious.

"I certainly didn't work in a place like this but yeah. I had a respectable operation. Part time chemist. Part time physicist… part time superhero."

"Hmmm" she hummed nodding in their commonality.

"I could forget that superhero part now huh?" Jay whispered his eyes falling to his hands in front of him.

Caitlin didn't know what to say. If he was telling them the truth she genuinely felt sorry for him. Lost for words, Caitlin remained silent and continued to analyse and draw conclusions to the data she received from Jay.

As Caitlin left Jay to get dressed, Caitlin tore off her gloves, throwing them in the trash as she made her way out of the medical bay and into the cortex. As she passed through the door frame, Iris jumped at her eager to know what she discovered.

"What did you find?" Iris asked hungry for information.

"Well Jay's heart rate is extraordinarily low. And he does have regenerative capabilities. Other than that I'm not seeing any evidence of the speed force in his system." Caitlin said shrugging her shoulders.

"We don't have any proof that he's a speedster much less from another Earth." Barry smirked.

Caitlin could feel Barry relax a little bit at the fact that he was right in not placing his trust in this man.

"Not necessarily." Caitlin added.

"What does that mean?" Iris asked curious.

"Well, Jay doesn't know this but while I was testing his heart rate, blood pressure and motor responses I also measured his autonomic reactions while we were talking." She smiled sly.

"You gave him a lie detector test?" Iris gasped quietly in surprise.

Caitlin shrugged. It was the only way they could really get to the bottom of things. She needed to be sure this man was telling the truth or if Barry was right to not trust him. And from everything she had gathered from their conversation and the data from the test… he seemed to be telling the truth.

"And he passed it."

Caitlin tilted her head up to watch Barry carefully. She knew it wasn't what he wanted to hear. She watched as his face darkened and his brows creased together in distrust.

"What if he's not a good guy and he just wants to find our weaknesses. Keep running tests. See what else you can find out." He blurted out as he left the room leaving Caitlin catching Iris' eye as the watched Barry leave both of them concerned.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

* _Pipeline*_

Barry waited impatiently for Caitlin to finalize the last of numerous tests she had run on Jay. He felt so edge. He didn't like the fact that she was left in the room with this complete stranger they knew nothing about.

Pacing up and down the room, Barry stopped as soon as Caitlin left the medical bay and over to the computers to look over the results of the current tests.

Barry entered the room soon after she left and asked Jay if he could follow him. The remained silent, as Barry led Jay down towards the pipeline.

"I hope you understand why we have to do this." Barry said almost apologetically as he closed the door of his cell.

"I get it kid. You got to do what you think you have to. But you'll all realize soon enough that _this_ … the tests… its unnecessary. I want to help you Barry not harm you." Jay explained.

"You're not the first person to say that to me." Barry whispered, hurt flooding to his face as he recalled memories of Wells and all that he had done.

"If what you told me about Zoom is true that he sent Rothstein here to kill you. Instead of locking me up in here you better start listening because if Zoom is involved you're going to need more than just me at your side to stay alive."

Barry didn't say a word. His lips were set in a fine line when Cisco's voice called him over the PA system.

"Barry there's a fire at the waterfront. The fire departments en route."

"I'm on my way." Barry yelled back, his eyes sternly fixed on Jay before he flashed out of the room.

"Be careful." Barry heard Jay whisper as he left.

* * *

* _Abandoned Factory*_

Barry stared at the burnt out boat in frustration. Even on the sleek surface of the boat, he was unable to pull off any usable fingerprints. With his hands on his hips Barry sighed.

"Bar" Joe called to him.

"Hey" Barry greeted Joe with a nod as he turned to face him.

"What are we dealing with here?"

"Ahh.." he sighed not sure where to start.

"Definitely a metahuman. I got a pretty solid look at him between punches and he was like um made of sand." Barry whispered so no there officer at the scene could overhear their conversation.

"Sand?" Joe asked wide eyed.

Internally Barry laughed at the shocked expression on his face. It still amazed how at times Joe could still be taken back by all the extra ordinary things that they have faced. In the world they lived in, Barry thought at least Joe would have gotten used to the impossible.

"Ahm." Barry confirmed.

"Okay." Joe said taking in a deep breath while absorbing the absurd situation.

"These walls are too porous to pull any prints… I can't even get one off the boat. But check this out." Barry began, indicating Joe to follow his lead further into the burnt out factory.

"There's gasoline burns… everywhere. Water didn't go off. Sprinklers weren't working. This was arson." Barry stated flatly.

"Excuse me. Barry Allen?"

Barry jolted upright at the sound of his name. He wasn't really one to be noticed all that much at crime scenes, and thus he was startled at the high, sharp voice that called his name.

"Yeah." Barry muttered as he turned to see a young ash blond officer approach him with a bright smile across her face.

"Hi." She replied giddy.

Barry looked over at Joe confused.

"Two days in a row officer. What a coincidence." Joe mumbled as he stared down at the eager officer.

"Or just meant to be if you believe in destiny or fate." She replied.

"I-" Joe said suddenly lost for words. He sure wasn't expecting that kind of answer.

Barry tilted his head down, shielding his face as he stifled the urge to laugh. After taking a quick short breath to compose himself, Barry looked up just as the officer extended her hand introducing herself.

"I'm Patty. Patty Spivot." She blurted out.

"Hey." Barry replied shaking her hand.

"I'm really excited to meet you. I'm a huge fan."

Barry smiled at the weirdness of it all. With a quick glance at Joe's direction who just shrugged Barry cleared his throat before speaking.

"Excuse me?"

"Your forensic reports. I ah read them sometimes."

"Oh."

"Who am I kidding? I read them all the time. I have practically read them all." She boasted.

Barry smiled widened as he watched Patty babbled. In some ways she reminded him of Felicity. It was probably they ways she could talk.

"Wow! I don't think that I've read them all." Barry laughed.

"They're always so detailed you really paint a picture like you were somehow actually there when someone was being brutally murdered."

"Thank you." He mumbled unsure whether to take that as a compliment or insult that she could be saying he was secretly the killer.

"Ah anyhow I… I found something. Oh I think I found something. It's just a theory but I would like to show you." She added blushing.

Barry extended his hand forward hinting for her to take the lead.

"Great." He smiled following her as she led the way.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

* _S.T.A.R Labs*_

With both hands placed firmly against the desk she peered inquisitively through the glass into the other room where Jay agreed to undergo a few more tests. With Iris by her side oogling at the topless man running in front of them, Caitlin tore her eyes away to read the data flowing into through her computer.

"His blood pressure is low, his heart rate is low, and his oxygen levels are impressive." Caitlin read out loud.

"Yeah but nothing compared to Barry's." Iris whispered her eyes still glued in front of her.

"That... that is true." She agreed as her mind drifted back to last night when Barry proved that true more than once.

"He is in certainly in the physical specimen range." Caitlin choked as she caught Iris eyeing her suspiciously with a curious expression.

"Definitely in more ways than one." Iris drooled turn back to Jay.

Caitlin laughed.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

"Yo!" Barry hollered as he entered the cortex.

"Yo. The sample you gave us. Not sand. Definitely human cells." Cisco bellowed as he spun around to face him.

"I hate to say it but I think this Earth 2 theory is starting to make sense." Cisco continued as he placed the sample of sand down on the desk.

"For real?" Barry spat as his brows creased in frustration.

Barry couldn't believe what Cisco was saying. They had no proof that anything Jay _claimed_ was true. Hell for all they knew he could be an escapee from a mental institution spitting out lies.

"What you think that Jay's lying about the Sand Demon?" Joe broke in, trying to defuse the growing tension in the room.

"I don't know that's my point. I'm not just going to believe some guy that walks in here and says a few things that sort of check out." Barry voiced angrily.

Feeling the heat of his frustration rise to his cheeks, Barry huffed out a hot breath as he ran his hands through his hair.

"Sort of? He was right about Zoom." Iris interrupted.

"We don't even know anything about Zoom. What is Zoom? Is Zoom even real? Right now that's just a story around a camp fire. I mean have you discovered a breach yet?" Barry spun around cornering Stein and Cisco with a murderous glare.

"Not yet. But we know how to now." Stein muttered.

"Have you found one thing that might suggest that Jay's a speedster? Is the speed force even in his system?" He called to Caitlin, his voice softening slightly as he turned to her.

"It doesn't appear to be. No." She whispered.

"See… We are scientists. You are a journalist. We test. We prove. We report. That is what we do. Except right now nobody wants to do any of that except me." Barry cried unable to hide is growing frustration.

As a silence fell across the room, Barry threw his hands in the air letting the fall back to his side in disbelief no one seemed to see things from his point of view.

"Can we have the room for a minute?" Caitlin's voice rang out breaking the eerie silence in the room.

Barry watch as Caitlin looked to everyone as they left the room. With everyone filing out slowly, Caitlin turned around to face him, Barry caught her eye. He waited, their eyes never leaving each other until they were finally alone.

"What has happened to you?" Caitlin pointed out loudly.

"Wh- Me?" Barry huffed out his hands on his hips.

"Yes you." She called him out.

Barry drew his head down shaking, not wanting to hear the truth. He couldn't. He wasn't willing to put his faith… his trust in someone again not when the people he loved always seemed to get hurt. And looking at Caitlin now, it reminded him even more how much he had to lose.

"The you… I was with this morning… the you that is the person I fell in love with? The you that is the Flash? The you I haven't seen in a long time and yesterday I thought I started to see him come back… what happened Barry?"

"Cait—a lot of things have changed. You better than anyone know that." He whispered looking back up at her.

"Yes I do. That's not a valid excuse here. Things have changed. You have started not to trust people. What is it about Jay that you don't like?"

"I don't know…" he whispered, his body slumping down to desk behind him.

Barry watched as Caitlin stepped forward closing the long distance between them until she was resting against him leaning back so he could see her. Her hands were rested on his chest as she spoke.

"It's because he reminds you of Harrison Wells."

Barry didn't answer straight away. Sometimes it amazed him just how much she knew him. Leaning forward so his head rested against her chest. Caitlin curled her arms around him soothing, the anger welling in his chest. Barry closed his eyes tight as he found his voice.

"I trusted that man for months…" he breathed pulling back so he was now looking at her.

"…We all did. And you know what Eddie is dead… Ronnie is dead… and a whole lot of other people in this city… they are dead because we trusted him. I'm not going to make that same mistake again." He explained.

"Babe not everyone is Harrison Wells. Besides you defeated him because you trusted in people. Because you believed in them. I believe in you. We all do. This team we have here… we will follow your lead… we will do what you say. But if you don't start believing in us… believing yourself… it could become true."

Barry sighed knowing just how right she was. Smiling up at her Barry leant back down fighting between what to do.

Barry was lost in his own thoughts, he had forgotten where was until he felt Caitlin's hands on either side of his face, lifting him up so he could see her. Barry smiled warmly up into her big bright eyes. He leaned into her touch, feeling the warmth of her skin brightening up his. Barry felt the warmth of her hands leave his cheeks as she placed them over his chest. He watched her carefully as her eyes drifted over to where her hands where. Her voice was light and soft when she spoke again.

"You got to start trusting this again… and remember I love you and will always believe in you." She said patting his chest before leaning down and kissing him softly on his lips.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

As Caitlin finished wrapping Jay's ribs, Caitlin busied herself with cleaning up eager to get home and wrap herself in the arms of the man she loved as they watched a movie in front of the fire.

"You're pretty good at this." Jay smiled as he placed his shirt back on.

"I've had a lot of practice over the last year." Caitlin laughed as she began placing things away.

Turning around, Caitlin really wanted to thank Jay for having Barry's back. She needed to know that what he did out there didn't go unnoticed and it really meant a lot to her that Barry got back safely.

"It was really courageous doing what you did today… standing up to the sand demon and without any powers." She whispered.

"Ahh Barry did all the work. I just stood there… took a few punches." He replied modestly.

"It was more than a few." Caitlin smiled as she dusted off her hands finished with everything.

"This is a lot harder than I thought. Losing something that was a huge part of who I was for so long." Jay confessed looking a little sad.

A part of Caitlin felt for Jay. She knew loss all too well. Clearing her throat she offered words of experience to Jay.

"I lost something that was a part of me too. More than once actually. It's hard. But it gets easier every day. You just have to find a new way to live. Until you find it again. Just because it's a different life doesn't mean it's a worse one." She finished with a warm smile.

Glancing over her shoulder to check the time, she caught sight of Barry across the room making his way towards them.

"And speed or no speed you were still a hero in my book. Along with another one. I'm just sorry I didn't see it sooner." She added as Barry joined them snaking his arm around her waist bringing her closer to him.

"Especially me." Barry confessed raising his hands.

"I'll leave you two speedsters alone." She laughed reaching up and placing a kiss on his cheek before turning to leave them.

"I'll find you later." He whispered with a smile.

* * *

 _*Caitlin's Apartment*_

Caitlin poked at the flames of the burning wood as she pushed herself back up and curled back comfortably on the sofa. With the music humming softly in the background, Caitlin reached across her to the end of the couch grabbing the blanket which she spread across her legs. As she watched the flames flicker out sparks of red and yellow embers, Caitlin felt her eyes grow heavy as she waited for Barry to come home.

Caitlin jolted awake when she felt the soft warm touch of someone kissing her forehead. Waking so quickly Caitlin was startled, barely acknowledging where she was at first until her eyes focussed to the dim lighting cast around the room by the fire. She relaxed when her eyes adjusted to see Barry kneeling beside her, a lazy smile across his face as he watched her. Smiling back, Caitlin looked down at her watch. She hadn't been a sleep long.

"Sorry didn't mean to wake you."

"No I'm glad your home." She smiled.

"Come on let's go to bed." He whispered as he tried to heave her off the couch and towards the bedroom.

"No, let's stay here for a while." She protested pulling him down on her.

Barry shook his head at her stubbornness but didn't object. Sliding to lie beside her, Caitlin lifted her head so Barry could snake his arm around her, holding her against his chest as they both began to fall asleep.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

The next day, Barry strolled into S.T.A.R Labs with Caitlin by his side. With everything that's been going on around them, Barry was happy that he had Caitlin to come home to.

As they entered the cortex, the mood seemed heavier. Barry turned to his friends with a strained concerned look on his face.

"What's wrong?" Barry asked his voice strained.

"Well it seems although we were successful in closing the singularity there was an unfortunate side effect."

"What are you talking about?" Caitlin said stepping forward, her brows creasing together in concern.

"Using electro-photography, Cisco and I were able to search Central City for any energy that was entering our earth from another dimension. From any breach as Mr Garrick described them." Stein explained.

"But of course there isn't just one breach… there's 52 of them scattered throughout Central City." Cisco emphasised.

Barry felt as Caitlin's hand tightened around his. He looked down at her as she looked up at him both of them frightened about what this meant. Scared for what the new threats this brought and could rip away from them.

As Stein began to speak again, Barry tore his eyes away from her trying hard to listen to what the professor had to say.

"These breaches are like pockets of time and space folded into and upon itself. The most significant breach of them all seems to be this one…" Stein paused as he turned to point at the monitor revealing a map of Central City lightened like a tree at Christmas.

"And where exactly is that located?" Caitlin pressed.

"It's here inside S.T.A.R Labs. And beyond that breach is an entirely dif—ff—"

Suddenly Caitlin dropped hold of his hand as he could only watch as Professor Stein collapsed to the ground. Barry followed Caitlin as she raced over to Stein's side.

"PROFESSOR!" She screamed.


	3. Frenemies

_**Here's the next installment in the Snowbarry story. Hope you enjoy. Based around Season 2 Episode 3. Let me know what you think.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own the Flash nor it's characters.**_

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

Barry stared at the wonder in front of them. With his arms wrapped loosely around Caitlin, Barry rested his chin on top of her head as she leaned against him both of them staring into the bridge of another world.

"Pretty amazing isn't it." Barry whispered in her hair.

"I still can't believe what I'm looking at." She replied as she gripped onto his arm around her.

"52 breaches in Central City and the biggest one happens to be in our basement." Cisco breathed out.

"We need a name for it!" Cisco exclaimed, his eyes alight with excitement.

"It's not a pet Cisco." Caitlin laughed rolling her eyes.

"No. It's a wormhole." A familiar voice rang out from behind them.

Barry snapped his head towards the door way. Leaning weakly against the door frame stood Professor Stein. Barry loosened his arms around Caitlin, as she moved away from him and towards the Professor fuming with undoubted concern.

"Professor Stein what are you doing?! You're blood pressure is one forty seven over 82! You could pass out again!" She scolded.

Barry jumped off the ledge he was sitting on and aside from laughing at how cute Caitlin got when she was made; Barry looked over the Professor with great concern.

"Oh it's only a merely a few points above the forty, average for someone my age. Besides I have a few ideas I'd like to contribute to this discussion Dr Snow." Stein waved her off.

"And I want to hear them. This isn't just a wormhole. It's my way home." Jay added.

Barry watched as Caitlin turned to Jay with an almost murderous glare.

"Back to Earth 2." Cisco said breaking into the conversation.

"Jay, do you really think we can use this as some kind of bridge from your world to ours?"

"Zoom uses the breaches… why can't we?"

"We don't know how… Everything I put through just bounces back." Cisco explained.

"If Zoom's using these breaches to transport people from Earth 2 maybe it takes a speedster." Barry suggested with a shrug of his shoulders.

Looking towards Caitlin, he gave her a cheeky smirk before he turned on his heel and made his way to the complete opposite side of the room.

"He's not going to…" Cisco started his face panned with the complete craziness of what Barry was going to do next.

"Yeah he is." Jay said flatly as they all waited for what would happen next.

As Barry saw Caitlin stepped forward her mouth open to protest, Barry gave her a quick wink just as he pushed his feet off the ground, placing one foot in front of the other, gaining speed as he ran fast towards the breach. As Barry reached the opening, an unseen force projected him backwards, sending him crashing into the ground.

"Maybe I'm not fast enough." He huffed out a breath, rolling onto his side as he cradled his throbbing stomach, thinking he might have cracked a rib.

Subtly coughing and trying to catch his breath, Caitlin was at his side in an instant. Finding her eyes, Barry began to feel himself heal.

"Maybe speed isn't the entirety of the issue there. It might be the breaches stability or lack thereof." Professor Stein added.

With his pain easing away with every breath, Barry took hold of Caitlin's extended hand as she helped him back up to his feet and into her arms.

"He's right. We need to think of the breach as a door and on Earth 2 there is another door. In between we have a hallway but the hallway's constantly shifting, twisting… collapsing upon itself." Jay began to explain.

"And the doors keep moving with it." Barry nodded agreeing with Jay's explanation.

"So if we stabilize the door we stabilize the hallway."

"And then I can jump through it!" Barry added.

"Exactly. It would serve as some kind of canon… A speed canon." Jay said enthusiastically.

"Mmmm we should hang out more." Cisco pointed to Jay with an approving nod.

Barry stifled a laugh as he caught the blooming bromance between Cisco and Jay.

"Alright no more tests today. All of you are leaving now! As am I. Cherish the gift of youth as I will go cherish my much needed nap. Clarissa's already on her way to pick me up." Stein ushered as he looked towards Barry and Caitlin.

* * *

* _Barry's Apartment*_

Taking Professor Stein's advice, Barry tore Caitlin away from their friends, needing to spend some quality time alone with the woman who stole his heart. As they made their way down the street towards home, Barry noticed as Caitlin shivered, hugging herself against the cold as they stepped slowly onto the empty road that led them home. In an instant, Barry drew his arms around her, bring her to his body. He felt as she pulled herself into him, absorbing the warmth of their bodies as they began to hurry home, both of them giggling as they tried not to trip over each other. Reaching his apartment, Barry pulled open the door, Caitlin almost tripping over herself as they hurried inside seeking the warmth of the enclosed room. As they both shrugged out of their thick coats, Barry turned toward the kitchen, switching on the kettle their body in need of some burning liquids. Reaching up Barry gathered up a couple of mug which he began to prepare some tea. As he turned around, he found Caitlin already nestled in bed with the doona wrapped tightly around her tiny frame. Barry smiled as he caught sight of her eyes peering up at him over the edge of the blanket.

With the kettle still boiling, Barry ambled towards her, oozing with confidence and desire. Smiling, Barry could only watch as Caitlin playfully hid herself under the covers, teasing him as he made his way over to her. Pouncing on the bed, Barry's hands sought out Caitlin's slim figure over the blanket. Laughing, Caitlin squirmed under his touch as he tickled her. Eventually, Caitlin threw over the blanket, her cheeks rose red, as she came out breathing heavy… her face flustered and hot.

Barry's breath was taken away by how beautiful she looked. He watched her every movement as if in slow motion. When she blew a stranded piece of hair out of her face, Barry's playful expression grew dark and serious. Still hovering over her, Barry noticed as Caitlin's eyes lit up with a fire that matched his burning with an intense need to be with her. Barry caught as she took in a sharp breath, her chest rising and falling fast as her heart rate began to spike.

As the energy between them began to build with a deep intensity, Barry took his time, his eyes never leaving hers as he leant down, drawing nearer to her his lips teasing her as he grazed his gently over hers. As a low moan escaped her lips, a playful smirk crossed his lips before Caitlin impatiently grabbed him on either side of his face, her lips smashing into his with a deep and passionate kiss.

* * *

* _Moments Later*_

With the lights of the city casting subtle shadows across the room, Barry was mesmerized by the softness of Caitlin's skin under the gentle touch of his fingers. As Caitlin lay awake beside him, her head resting on her arms crossed over her pillow, Barry eyes followed his hands as they traced various shapes against her back.

"Hey." He said kissing lightly on the lips as he tilted his head up to meet her eyes.

"Hey." She smiled back.

"What are you thinking about?" His lips whispered against her shoulder as he continued to trace light swirls and circles against her bare back.

"Ummm, do you think Professor Stein is alright? Clarissa would call if there was anything wrong. Yeah I'm just going to give them a call." She mumbled lost in her thoughts and worries.

As Barry opened his mouth to protest, Caitlin had already taken the sheets off the bed wrapping them loosely around her body. Grabbing her phone out her jeans on the floor, she slid out of bed and moved her way towards the floor to ceiling window that overlooked they city. Barry huffed out, allowing his head to fall back down onto the bed. He tilted his head in her direction as eyes fell on every detail of her body. As the night lights of the city casted a subtle glow on her skin, he drew in a deep breath as her memorized the beauty of the perfect woman before him… the beauty in the simple moments like this. Barry smiled to himself, thinking just how lucky he was.

Laughing at Caitlin's stubbornness and undoubtedly whole-hearted compassion for Stein's welfare, Barry rested easy on the bed as he waited for Caitlin to join him again. Just as she heard Caitlin finish what he assumed was a brief and curt conversation with Professor Stein, Barry's phone in turn began to ring. Reaching for it beside him, Barry pulled the screen in front of him to see Cisco's caller ID on the screen.

"Hey."

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

* _S.T.A.R Labs*_

Caitlin had arrived shortly after Barry did. As she entered the cortex, she was greeted by Cisco and Barry dressed as the Flash standing beside a very familiar and unwelcomed guest. _Lisa Snart._

"Alright so you really just want us to believe that _Captain Cold_ was kidnapped?" Caitlin remarked as she took another step into the room, already having been updated on the apparent situation.

"I saw it happen. Last night Lenny me and Mick were knocking over the cashiers cage and Central City's race track…" Lisa defended.

"Does it _physically_ pain your family not to rob people?" Caitlin questioned sarcastically.

"I never finished the job." She smirked.

"After Mick torched through the side entrance I looked back for Lenny and saw him thrown into the back of a van." Lisa added her voice saddening as she recalled the memory.

"And why didn't you and Mick follow?" Barry asked hidden behind his mask.

"I would have… someone hit me from behind knocking me out. When I came to Lenny was gone and Mick had already made off with the cash."

"How do we know this isn't some kind of trap?" Caitlin interrogated defensively.

"If Lenny wanted the Flash dead he would have let Martin, Simmons and Bivalo take that honour remember?"

Caitlin rolled her eyes. If it wasn't for Snart helping them escape in the first place, Barry's life wouldn't have needed saving.

"Yeah I remember." Barry grumbled at the memory.

"Good. Then you'll also recall you owe Lenny a favour for saving life. Time to make good on the debt _Flash_." She emphasised.

"I do not like here." Caitlin said bluntly as she turned to Barry, her arms crossed tightly against her chest.

"Yeah but she does make a point." Cisco added.

Caitlin spun her head around to Cisco's direction with an obvious glare.

"What? We should at least hear her out! Right?" he defended as he shrugged his shoulders and turned away from her scrutiny almost immediately after he caught her eye.

"Even if I wanted to help, how are we supposed to find him?" Barry interrupted.

Caitlin shook her head faintly at Cisco before relaxing back and turning back to face Lisa.

With her eyes still holding a careful watch over Lisa, Caitlin followed Cisco and Barry around to the computers where he began to explain and narrow down the last known location the cool gun was registering a cool thermal reading.

"Not a problem. See when I rebuilt the cold gun I didn't have time to place a tracker on it so I devised a method of locating it by borrowing some military grade technology. See the gun works the same as thermal imaging, yet instead of inferred heat signatures it's looking for ultraviolet cold signatures. Woah look at that… the guns UV thermal reading was last picked up at 5th and Hoyt eight minutes ago."

"Alright. Let's see if you're a liar." Barry whispered towards Lisa before speeding off.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

* _West Residence*_

After his brief and unsuccessful visit with Snart, Barry raced over to Joe replying to his urgent phone call.

Barry sat on the couch with the fire raging in front of him emitting a comfortable warmth that made him feel at home. Joe paced with an uneasiness in his step as Barry poured over the earlier images Joe had stored away of Iris and her mother.

"Iris' mom is alive." Barry repeated shocked.

He couldn't believe that after all these years not once did Joe ever tell them the truth. But whatever his reasons he knew that Joe must have had a good one. Especially if it meant keeping Iris from her mother.

"I've lied to Iris… you… everybody." Joe pointed out ashamed.

"Why?" Barry asked gently trying to understand.

"I felt like I didn't have a choice. Francine did so many things wrong… just about everything. I don't know. I felt like my one wrong might be worse." Joe said sounding resigned as he sagged down onto the couch beside Barry.

"Look Joe. I—I've known you for like most of my life and I feel like I know you feel like you always have a good reason for the decision you make and… obviously you were worried Iris was going to go down the wrong path if Francine raised her. I mean look at Snart… he's a criminal because he had Louis as a father. That could have been me." Barry gave him a small reassuring smile.

"Oh come on…. Never!" Joe retorted.

"Yeah that's because I had you and so did Iris. You just got to trust in that and ugh tell her the truth." Barry shrugged.

"Yeah… but how do I do that without hurting her?" Joe asked rhetorically knowing that no matter how he told her there was no way neither him or her were getting out unscathed.

"She's not a little girl anymore. You raised her. You raise me. Trust me she can handle about almost everything."

"I've just lied to her for so long. I'm just scared she won't understand or forgive me. I could lose her." Joe replied bowing his head into his hands.

"No. She's going to forgive you. You just need to give her the chance." Barry said softly as he placed a reassuring hand on his father's shoulder.

* * *

* _Crime Scene*_

The next morning, Barry arrived at the latest Central City crime scene with Joe. It had been a long day, and he and Joe spent most of the night talking and figuring how he'd tell Iris about her mother. With a phone call to Caitlin, Barry spent the night in his childhood room exhausted.

As he and Joe ducked underneath the crime scene tape, Barry squinted as the light hit his eyes. Yawn, Barry was greeted with a bright, perky and quite eager detective.

"Don't worry sir; I waited for you this time. Okay I maybe did a quick preliminary assessment of my own. Something is definitely weird." Spivot blurted out as soon as they arrived on scene.

"Ow." Joe winced at the sight of the gruesome scene.

"Decapitation. Yikes!" Barry remarked.

"Yeah we're still recovering parts of his head so the idea is taking a little longer than normal- ahhh"

"Eglh... Sorry I thought I stepped on an ear. I didn't. If I did I think I'd be hearing things." She blurted out.

Barry laughed loudly. Barry couldn't help but draw strong similarities he found in Patty to Felicity. As he watched Patty, he couldn't help but wonder if they were somehow related. It wouldn't be surprising if they were. In fact it would probably explain a lot he mused to himself as he turned his attention back to the decapitated body before him.

"Doesn't look like the head was sliced off by any weapon I'm familiar with… and I'm familiar with most weapons." She yapped on.

"Yeah you're right. Perforations around the neck are too jagged. It's almost as if the head was blown off." Barry said in almost a whisper as he attention were strongly focussed on the wounds around the victims neck.

"Like a metahuman that can explode heads, right?" Patty concluded confidently.

"Not necessarily." Barry said shaking his head as he took a step back.

Opening his kit, Barry drew a couple of samples from the wound and began an onsite analysis of the trace material.

"Traces of thermite." He stated as the beeping indicated the results of the analysis.

"Bombers residue?" She asked wary.

"Uhhuh" Barry confirmed.

"Then why wasn't the rest of the body blown apart?" She added confused.

"I don't know." He shrugged.

Tearing off his gloves from his hands, Joe returned back with a folder in hand.

"The victim's ID is David Roudenburg. Security system's expert and guess who's on his list of know associates?" he began reading off the information in the manila folder.

Barry raised his eyebrows at Jo, waiting and asking for the answer.

"Louis Snart." Joe finished snapping the folder shut.

"Louis Snart isn't he related to Leonard Snart aka Captain Cold?"

"Please don't call him that." Joe replied his eyes furrowing together.

His mind racing and pieces starting to come into view Barry, smiled at Patty as he excused themselves away.

"Ugh one second." He said gesturing with one finger.

"Sure." She smiled as they all stepped away in different direction, Barry ushering Joe to one side of the crime scene.

"Come here. I think this guy was part of Snart's crew." Barry whispered, careful that they to be overheard.

"So Snart put a bomb in him to keep him in line?" Joe brainstormed confused by the out of character action.

"No… Snart wouldn't do that. But his father would." Barry concluded.

"Wait so Louis is killing people and Snart is _still_ working with him… what happened to the deal you guys had?"

"Maybe he doesn't have a choice."

"So you think Louis put a bomb on his own son so that he'd do a heist?"

"No Snart wouldn't do it. He would dig the bomb out of his own head if he had too." Barry replied placing his hands on his hips thinking what would make Snart still do a job that was out of his way.

"So there must be something else Snart cares about."

"The only thing Snart cares about is his sister." Barry sighed as he looked at Joe.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

With Barry busy fighting crime at his day job, Caitlin had finished deliver Cisco his food and headed down to the basement where Jay had been working hard trying to figure out a way to stabilize the last breach.

"Hey." Caitlin called out.

"Hey."

"I thought you might be hungry." She smiled as she held up a bag from Big Belly Burger.

"Ahh… good to know whatever Earth you go to there's always a Big Belly Burger. Thank you very much." He smiled as he took the bag off her.

"Looks like you're making progress." Caitlin mused as she took a look around the enormous room cluttered with various types of materials and tools.

"Slowly. I should be able to make this a lot faster." Jay sighed as he took a break dusting off his hands and drawing closer to her.

"You miss it… your speed?" She asked.

"Yeah it's surprising how much." He replied.

Caitlin saw the look in his eyes. It reminded her of when Barry had temporarily lost his speed. How he felt.

"So what will you do when you go back to your Earth?" She asked trying to distract him from the pain of losing something that was an obvious large part of who he was.

"I don't know… I guess I'll just have to get used to being-"

"Normal?" she finished.

"Ha yeah… Two years ago I was just a scientist trying to save the world but purifying water without residual radiation."

"Important work!" She reassured him.

"Yeah it was. But after the particle accelerator exploded I didn't need to wait years for my research to save lives…. I could save one before breakfast. I could save 50 before going to sleep. There's nothing like that rush. You've guys have been fighting so many battles one after another I don't think Barry's had time to take it in. to appreciate how great it can feel."

"Being a superhero isn't always about how fast you can run… it's about helping however you can. Wherever you're needed most... I think Jay Garrick physicist has just as much to contribute as Jay Garrick superhero. Maybe more." She finished with a warm smile. She knew he needed the confidence to find himself again.

There was a moment of silence that drifted between them. Jay stared at her intently. Feeling a bit uneasy Caitlin looked away, her fingers drumming lightly against her sides as she tried to forget about the awkwardness building.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Jay smirk at her obvious reaction to turn away. To break the uneasy tension, Jay cleared his throat before speaking.

"You know what would help me build the speed canon faster… an extra set of hands. Specifically ones with a surgeon's precision." He suggested with a raised eyebrow.

"Me? Sure if you think I could really help." Caitlin shrugged.

As she stepped forward to lend a helping hand, Cisco's voice rang out through the speakers. His voice tense and urgent.

"Hey, Caitlin we need you up here like RIGHT NOW!"

"Sorry." She mouthed before turning to leave the room.

* * *

* _The Cortex*_

Caitlin stared at the results in front of her. This was not good. Biting down on her bottom lip, Caitlin thought of the best way to break the news.

"Oh boy." Cisco muttered.

Caitlin shot him a glare as she slapped him across the arm.

"What is it?" Lisa asked, her voice heavy and strained.

As much as Caitlin might have despised her, the hollow look in her eyes as she tried to prepare herself for the worst news, Caitlin felt empathetic towards her.

"Ugh Lisa there are traces of thermite on your skin." Caitlin said softly.

"Thermite. What like an explosive?"

"Not like an explosive-" Caitlin began.

"It's a bomb." Cisco said flatly.

"When you were knocked out your dad must have injected you with it."

Caitlin watched as Lisa's face fell and darkness settle upon her light features.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

"The mirco bomb casing must be made of some sort of ferromagnetic material." Barry assessed as he cursed the magnet around Lisa's neck.

"Once you hold it steady with the magnet I can surgically remove it." Caitlin added as she watched carefully waiting for the right moment to step in and remove the bomb.

"PUT THE MAGNET DOWN!" Cisco screamed from across the room, startling Barry to jump back with both his hands raised in the air.

"This is a really concentrated bomb… it's going to combust if it exposed to magnetic friction and an oxidant."

Barry's eyes widened in alarm as he and Caitlin both took a large step back. His eyes shot from Cisco to Lisa, to Caitlin and back to Lisa as she began to speak.

"What's he talking about?" she asked her voice strained.

"Air. Ah the bomb will explode it the bomb comes in contact with air." Caitlin coughed to clear her throat before explaining.

"Don't worry Lisa we're going to find another way to get it out. Scientific minds can we confer please?" Cisco ushered as he turned bringing with Caitlin and Cisco in tow.

"What if the Flash speed extracts it?" Caitlin whispered as they walked into the med bay.

"No. it's too risky. I'm going to find another way I just need a little time." Cisco fidgeted.

"Well we need to keep track of Louis until you find out a way to disarm the bomb." Barry added.

"I wish we knew what he was going to steal next… and when."

"Maybe I can get them to tell me." Barry trailed off as his mind began to weave a plan together.

Barry peered down at Caitlin, her face was plastered with a confused expression across her face.

"Their tech guy is dead so I'm betting their going to need a new one. I am saying I'm going to infiltrate Louis' crew." Barry explained as a lazy smile crossed his lips.

"You're going to pretend to be a criminal!" Caitlin shouted utterly shocked at such a ridiculous idea.

"How hard can it be?" Barry shrugged unfazed.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

Caitlin was high on edge. Her emotions high, Caitlin couldn't keep still. Pacing up and down with her fingers to her lips, her heart began to pump hard as she thought about who and where Barry was right now… not to mention what Cisco was about to could possibly kill them if it went all wrong.

"What are you going to do to me with that thing?" she heard Lisa ask as she stared at Cisco holding a highly pressurized gun.

"Operating pressure on this is over 1000 psi this will easily suck the micro bomb out her neck and into the barrel of this with one high powered shot. There is one slight risk…" Cisco trailed of his voice shaking with nerves.

"Aside from shooting a high powered weapon against my neck?" Lisa retorted sarcastically.

"The gun does use compressed air." Cisco swallowed hard.

"I trust you Cisco." She said boldly.

Caitlin watched as Cisco mentally prepared himself. As he took in a deep breath, Caitlin couldn't help but do the same. Inwardly, saying a silent prayer.

"Okay… how do you feel?" Cisco mumbled as he lowered the gun towards her neck.

"Like we should have put down some plastic." Lisa chuckled nervously.

"Ha that's not funny."

"Yeah but I like it when you smile." Lisa whispered smiling herself as she looked into his eyes.

"Okay you ready?" He asked breathing out.

"Shoot me Cisco."

Suddenly the alert on the computer chirped. Startling Caitlin, Caitlin choked on her breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. As Cisco eyed her intensely, Caitlin ran around to the front of the desk her eyes immediately recognising Barry's number.

"It's th—F-Flash" she mumbled on her words.

 _"Cisco, how you doing with Lisa?"_ Barry's voice bellowed over through the open line.

"I ugh kind of in the middle of it buddy!" Cisco yelled back trying to stop his hands from shaking.

 _"Alright we need that bomb out. The heist is going down right now."_

" _Wanna bet?"_ An unfamiliar voice filtered through the background.

"DO NOT BET… GIVE ME A MINUTE!" Cisco shouted intensely.

"Do it Cisco." Lisa nodded.

All that Caitlin could do was watch Cisco intently as he drew in a sharp breath. As the static rumbled in a lull whisper in the background... the silence that fell in that moment was intense in the face of the danger that they could be blown to pieces if this all went wrong.

With her heart beating hard against her chest, Caitlin could only imagine what was running through Cisco's mind. Hell she was just praying to God that he knew what he was doing.

What felt like an eternity that passed, was just a couple of seconds for Cisco to muster the courage he needed to pull the trigger.

"I GOT THE BOMB OUT!"

Those words rang through her ears. A sense of relief washed over her. Caitlin felt herself melt away at the renewed sense of life. And boy was she glad to still be alive. Now all she wanted to was be in the arms of the man she loved.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

After a short visit with Snart at Iron Heights, Barry was more than ready to go home. Feeling the exhaustion heavy on his body, Barry eagerly climbed the stairs all the way to the top of S.T.A.R Labs. Pulling open the sturdy metal door, Barry welcomed the fresh evening air that swirled around him as he made his way over to Caitlin. Standing behind her Barry wrapped his arms around her hugging her to his body. Barry felt as her as her lips pulled into a smile. As he tightened his grip around her, Caitlin rested her head back against his shoulder, both of them watching as the sun began to set over the city.

With the tense day they had, Barry loved the small moments like this with Caitlin… where the weight of the world they carried seemed to melt away even if just for a moment. At that very second Barry, knew the strength of his love for her. A love that'll remain as long as the sun continued to rise every day and set every night. Leaning his cheek against her head, Barry took in a deep breath. Tilting his head down Barry planted a soft light kiss on her shoulder before whispering in her ear.

" _I love you."_

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

Giggling as the made their way back down towards the cortex, Barry guided his hand from around her waist, intertwining his fingers with hers. As Barry pulled her through the doorway, Caitlin stopped short jerking him back and into her.

Barry laughed. Releasing her hand and snaking his arms around her, hugging her close to him.

"We have a surprise for you." She whispered coyly as she wriggled out of his hold.

Leading him in hand back down to the basement, Caitlin stepped though the doorway first before shouting.

"Ta da the speed canon."

"Huh wow look at that dudes you actually built the thing." Cisco called from behind them.

Caitlin spun around to see as Cisco followed them into the room.

"Mr Garrick I am quite impressed on what you've accomplished on my wellness hiatus." Stein commended.

"Have you tested it out yet?" Cisco smiled with excitement.

"Not yet… Be my guest." Jay offered extending his hand out towards the breach.

"No, no, no… now that I uh I am back to optimum health please allow me." Stein smiled as every stood back as he prepared to throw something into the breach.

"Ecclesia!" He proclaimed.

Every stared astonished as the bag didn't recoil back into their world. _It had worked._

"How did you stabilize it?" Barry asked in awe… his eyes still glued to the breach.

"CFL Quark matter." He replied.

"Ugh negative energy density with positive surface pressures… GENIUS!" Cisco bellowed.

"Wait! You created CFL Quark matter?" Barry retorted impressed.

"Something we perfected on my Earth. I'll show you sometime." Jay shrugged as if it were nothing.

"You mean sometime in the next few minutes?" Stein emphasised.

"Oh yeah I guess this is it. Time for me to go home."

"Right now? We still need your help with the breachers." Caitlin mumbled, as she took stock of everyone's expression of disappointment that Jay was leaving.

Thus, as no one spoke up she took it upon herself to find an excuse for him to stay.

"Zoom is my first priority." Jay countered.

"She's right. Zoom will keep sending breachers and I think I'd be better you were here. I mean it would be great to pick you brain every once and a while speedster tips."

"Uhh yeah okay. Once we take care of zoom I'm going home."

"That's fair."

"Good cause I'm going to need a shower shave and some sun. See you later."

* * *

After Jay dusted up and left, Caitlin turned around facing Professor Stein who was still mesmerized by the stabilized breach.

"So Professor Stein how are you feeling?" Caitlin asked, her face deepening with concern.

"Well it appears that I—ugh—a little rest heals all melodies. I—I umm couldn't fe—" He began to fumble.

"Professor?" Caitlin raced towards Stein, as he began to seize. She saw as his eyes rolled to the back of his head and began to falter and fall to the floor.

Reaching out to break his fall, Caitlin felt as Barry's hands curled around her wrist pulling her back with a slight force.

"No, no, no wait come here!" Barry yelled jerking both her and Cisco behind him just as Professor Stein blew up in a burning flame of blue.

"Professor… Professor, can you hear me?" Caitlin stammered as he ran beside Stein as stopped seizing in flames of blue.

With no response, Caitlin felt for a pulse. With a weak beat under her touch, Caitlin blew out a sign of relief he wasn't dead.

"What happened he lit up like firestorm but why was his flame blue?" Barry mumbled as he combed his fingers though his hair in concern.

"I don't know. It's not good. We need to stabilize him and fast!"


	4. Facing FIRESTORM

_**Hey guys so here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy. Sorry that I have been updating on a constant regular basis... I sorta want the current season to finish so I know where my story will lead as I'll be adding something to the Snowbarry story around ep.18 I think... so I need to know how it can work and how I can work it in with the rest of the season.**_

ShanouNash & josephguy217 & xan-merrick - Glad you enjoyed the chapter.. :)

AExupery - I appreciate your kind words. I do try my best to deliver you guys with a realistic version to the show.

Raquel - It will be difficult with finding some inspo snowbarry scenes to go off but trust ME stay tuned cause hopefully I can pull of a good story for what I have planned :)

TinkStar87 - Haha I know so many cliffhangers! I feel like this whole season every ep has had a cliff hanger. But stay tuned to the Snowbarry version... I think it's going to get good. It I write it good.

Thanks for all the comments really makes me smile that I can write something you guys enjoy.

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own the Flash nor its characters.**_

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

"HOLD HIM STILL!" Caitlin ordered towards Barry as she raced around to the other side in order to hold Stein down in any effort to minimise his seizing.

"His dropping out." Barry said his voice tense.

"Come on! Come on! Come on!" Cisco muttered under his breath.

"Cisco we're losing him!" Barry yelled.

"GOT IT!" Cisco shouted as he finished typing furiously across the keyboard, reconfiguring the tacion device in the effort to stabilize Stein.

What only were mere seconds felt like hours as she watched impatiently as Cisco sprinted across the room towards them, latching the tacion device onto Stein's chest. Caitlin held her breath as she watched and waited for Stein to stabilize. Closing her eyes in relief, Caitlin cautiously guided her hands away, unsure if he was really stable. After a minute passed, she felt that she could finally breathe again. _That was close. Too close._ She mumbled to herself.

"Oh dieu mio, thank god" Cisco praised, slumping down relieved against the metal desk behind him.

"He's getting worse."

"Look I did what I could to re-engineer Dr Wells' original to call off the reaction but I don't know what he used as a power source. Best I could find was the one from his wheel chair."

"And how long will that last?"

"Well that's the problem. We had already used up most of its energy trying to dampen the metas powers during our little rogue trip with the Weather Wizard and company. I think we have a few days tops." Cisco shrugged hopeful.

"And he's stuck in bed?"

"Yeah and when he wakes up I'm going to transfer the stabilizer to this. Give him a power cane. Get him moving."

"We got to figure out a way to save him."

"I think I might know how to do that." Caitlin proposed.

* * *

"When the particle accelerator exploded the dark matter that collided with Professor Stein fused with the F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M matrix and altered the normal molecular processes that occur in his body. Those highly reactive molecules needed something to bond with in order to stabilize." Caitlin explained as she walked back into the cortex, leading the boys to the centre where they listened intently to what she was saying.

"And that's where Ronnie came in." Cisco recognised.

"Yes. And now that Ronnie is no longer apart of Professor Stein…" Barry trailed off, his face saddening at the past memory.

"His molecules have nothing to bond to." Caitlin finished, her eye catching Barry's.

"And the longer he goes without merging the more unstable he becomes."

"Oh… alright so what do we do?" Barry jumped eagerly concerned to find a solution.

"Find another… participant." Caitlin stated flatly.

"Okay cool so how do we do that? Are we just going to make a tinder app for potential metahumans? Because I'm pretty sure merging with stein and randomly bursting into flames sounds like the biggest swipe left of all time." Cisco bantered.

"Even if we could find someone willing… Stein can't just merge with just anyone he wants." Barry replied looking from Cisco to Caitlin.

Caitlin turned away, slightly guilty that she hadn't told Barry she'd been secretly researching for potential matches in the event Stein was ready to re-emerge as F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M.

"No he can't… but I have done some research and have found two potential candidates who might be compatible with him. They were both affected by the dark matter and they were both admitted to the hospital showing symptoms of gene rearrangement mutation. And they both share the same blood type as professor stein and Ronnie." Caitlin confessed under her breath as she moved over to the computers, avoiding Barry's intense gaze by gluing her eyes to the screen and bringing up everything she'd discovered so far in her research.

Caitlin kept her eyes down, as she waited for Barry to reluctantly turn away from her and to the screen behind him to review what she had found. Once she was sure his eyes weren't on her, she looked up, and biting on her bottom lip she crossed her arms over her chest protectively.

"Alright… um this is more than organ donation we need more than tissue typing to see if their bodies are compatible." Barry muttered.

"If I could isolate the genetic locus of the two candidates and cross reference it with the mutations of Professor Stein I might be able to find a match and save his life." replied Caitlin.

"What do you need me to do?" was all he said.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

With Stein's life on the line, there was no time to waste by asking for permission to test their blood. Instead, Barry took it upon himself to make the executive decision and take a small and harmless sample without them knowing.

As Barry raced to find both men, his mind kept tracking back to what Caitlin had said. _She had been doing research._ Why was she doing research in the first place? And why hadn't she told him? With his mind racing with all these questions Barry, stealth fully obtained samples of blood of each donor with speed and flashed back to S.T.A.R Labs.

"Alright blood samples from both potential candidates." He grumbled as he handed each sample carefully over to Caitlin.

"Woah that is fast even for you." Cisco gaped slightly impressed.

"I may have skipped the asking for permission part." Barry shrugged.

As his fingers brushed overs her slightly, Barry looked over to Caitlin who was nibbling down on her bottom lip. He wanted her to look up at him. They needed to talk. He wanted to know why she had kept this from him. But she continued to avoid his gaze.

"Let's see if we can't find a match." She said reluctant to meet his eyes.

As she took the samples, she turned away to analyse them without another word or any explanation about everything else.

* * *

* _CCPD*_

With nothing to do until, Caitlin had finished her analysis of each blood samples, Barry remained useless and frustrated with all the questions bouncing around his head. Barry leaned his head back, rocking back and forth on his desk chair.

 _Why would she tell him? Why keep it a secret? Why, why, why?_ Repeated over and over in his head.

Huffing out Barry pulled himself up and buried his head in his hands taking a deep breath. Rubbing his face, Barry looked up, his eye line levelled with his desk drawer. With another burning question buried deep inside the drawer, Barry reached out opening it. Barry stared down into the almost empty drawer. A small velvet box lay against the wooden panel. Closing his eyes Barry shut it, uncertainty filling up his mind.

Distracted to work or do anything useful at the CCPD, Barry pushed himself out of his chair decided to grab a coffee at Jitters.

As Barry began climbing down the stairs of CCPD towards the elevators, Barry was so lost in his own thoughts he couldn't stop himself before bumping into someone.

Startled, Barry stumbled backwards, his mind brought back into the present.

"Barry? Hey I was just looking for you. I would have called but I don't have your number yet so…" Patty mumbled her cheeks flushing a shade of pink.

Barry offered a weak but genuine smile.

"Sorry." Barry apologized both for bumping into her and for the fact that he might not be giving her his full attention. But he couldn't concentrate, when his mind was on Stein and Caitlin.

"No, no, no I just wanted to show you this. These were found off an alley of Eastward Avenue."

Barry's eyes widened in acknowledgement to what she as handing her as he simultaneously re-focused his attention to what she was saying.

Barry looked down to the red taped evidence bag. Squinting his eyes as he brought it closer for examination Barry exclaimed

"What are these… teeth?"

"Shark teeth." She said giddy.

"And I have an eye witness that says he saw a shark walking on land. A… A man shark." She emphasised with excitement.

"Man shark?" Barry repeated skeptical.

"Yeah."

"It sounds like a bad sci-fi movie." Barry muttered.

"Or a really awesome sci-fi movie." She countered blushing.

As Barry glance up at her and back to the teeth, he had to do a double take, haven't realized how serious she was taking this.

"Haha yeah. Oh um for real? You actually think there's a shar—"

"Yeah, I know it sounds… really wacko but nothing seems impossible now we have metahumans right? And I thought it would be fun you know for us to work together again on case." She jumped in defending herself.

"Yeah I know. It's just metahumans aren't really my thing." Barry shrugged off.

"Oh okay that's fine." She said a bit deflated.

Sensing her disappointment Barry felt a little bad for shutting her down so offered to help anyway.

"Um look, how about I just run a test… see where the teeth came from."

"That would be amazing thanks." She chirped clearly happy again.

"Yeah sure." Barry smiled.

"Detective Spivot."

Barry turned his head to see Joe approaching them.

"Detective." She replied confident.

"How's your man shark case coming?"

"It's good. I was about to go canvas the area to see what else I could dig up. And Barry here agreed to runs some tests for me." She smiled as she glanced at Barry.

"Ugh really?" Joe asked with raised eyebrows towards Barry.

Barry just shrugged.

"So progress." She added.

"Thanks again." She finished turning to Barry.

"Ahem." Barry nodded watching as she walked away.

"If I didn't know any better… I would think my partner has a little crush on you." Joe pointed out.

Barry's brow creased together confused. Glancing over his shoulder as Patty got into the elevator he turned back to Joe.

"What… Patty? No."

Barry just watched as Joe gave him a _'seriously?'_ expression before he turned to head over to his desk. Shaking off the absurd notion, Barry followed Joe.

"You okay kid?"

Barry opened his mouth ready to tell Joe about Caitlin and everything when his phone chimed momentarily silencing him.

"Oh sorry Joe I have to go. That was Caitlin about Stein." Barry said backing away as he finished reading the text message from Caitlin.

"Yeah go I'll cover you with Singh." Joe replied.

"Thanks." Barry mumbled as he raced towards the elevators.

* * *

 _*S.T.A.R Labs*_

After an unsuccessful first meeting with Jackson, Barry and Stein entered the cortex to find Hewitt standing in the middle engaged in a lively conversation with Caitlin.

"Caitlin… what's going on?" Barry pressed as he rounded the arched desk towards them.

"Hi. I'm glad your back. This is Dr. Henry Hewitt. This is Barry Allen and Professor Martin Stein." She bounced as she made the introductions.

Barry assessed Hewitt with a careful eye. Extending his hand out, Barry was met with an unkindness when Hewitt stepped by him, ignoring Barry as if he were invisible. Barry stared in front of him wide eyed at such arrogance.

"How do you do?" Stein said cordially.

"The illustrious Martin Stein. I've read all your papers back at Hudson especially on transmutation. _Fascinating_." Hewitt said in awe.

Shaking off his slightly hurt feelings, Barry made his way over to Caitlin, greeting her with a soft kiss. Cisco joined him soon after as they all turned to face the small interaction between Hewitt and Stein.

"You're a legend." Hewitt whispered leaning in towards Stein.

"Oh please. You're overestimating my contributions to the field…" Stein voiced humbly, shying his head down.

"Isn't he great?" Caitlin whispered leaning into Barry.

Barry noticed as a smile stretched across her face. He too smiled at how happy she seemed. It lifted his heart. But his smile slightly faded as his mind drifted back to all the unanswered questions plaguing his already crowded mind.

"He's got an ego the size of Texas but yeah he's alright." Cisco nodded.

With Stein and Hewitt seemingly getting along pretty well, Caitlin turned to face Barry with a curious look on her face.

"So where's Jefferson Jackson?" She asked.

"We just need more time." Barry grumbled softly, his eyes still glued on Hewitt.

"We don't have more time. I couldn't find a power source for the cane. That thing is running out!" Cisco pressed.

"Okay let's do the merge. Hewitt's in." Caitlin jumped in.

"What do you mean? You told him about the F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M matrix?" Barry exclaimed reeling from shock yet somehow he knew that wasn't the only thing that made him raise his voice. There was hint of betrayal if he were to be completely honest with himself.

"Absolutely! Becoming F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M is a huge life change. He needs to know what he's getting himself into." Caitlin defended.

The sudden burst of laughter bellowing from a short distance beside them, distracted Barry for the clearly growing tension between Caitlin and himself.

"Oh look at that… that's so cute we'll have two Professor Stein's if this works." Cisco said sarcastically with a childlike grin across his face.

"It'll work." Caitlin stated flatly turning her back to Barry almost abruptly.

"Yeah." Cisco concurred.

"Okay." Barry agreed outnumbered.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

* _S.T.A.R Labs*_

Caitlin waited nervously while Cisco primed the splicer to Hewitt's chest. _She wanted this to work… no she needed this to work._ Unable to keep her nerves at bay, she began fidgeting with her fingers, her teeth biting down on her lower lip.

"When I put this splicer on your chest, you're going to feel a rush. That's the molecular primer being released into your body. Then you can make physical contact with Professor Stein and whoosh firestorm matrix will take over." Cisco explained.

"Easy enough." Hewitt smiled.

"Ready?" Caitlin asked Stein her voice a little shaky.

"Nothing like the present thank you my dear." Stein reassured her with a gently squeeze of her hand.

Caitlin smiled warily but nodded. Stepping back, Caitlin joined Barry to the side and out of the way. By a quick glance in his direction, he's face was stern and serious as he kept an intense eye on Hewitt. He seemed a little guarded with his hands crossed over his chest, unwilling to look at her. Caitlin couldn't blame him. She knew he could sense that he was a bit mad at her. She hadn't giving him an explanation. She knew he deserved one but she just couldn't seem to find the words. At least not yet.

Turning away, slightly ashamed… they watched as the splicer powered up. Stein and Hewitt turned to face each other. Both reaching out to each other, they began to fuse together in a rush of red and yellow flames before they extinguished almost immediately.

Caitlin stepped forward confused. Stein with same expression on her face, turned to both her and Barry before back to Hewitt.

"Try again." Stein nodded.

Caitlin stepped back once again to watch them make the same attempt however, this time nothing… not so much as a wick of flame sparked between them. Nothing happened.

"This is unexpected." Stein whispered shaking his head.

"Something is supposed to be happening…right? Why isn't it working?" Hewitt said with a growing agitation.

"I don't know." Caitlin shrugged, a taken back by his raised voice.

"Looks like you guys aren't compatible after all. I'm just going to umm..." Cisco mumbled as he took the splicer back.

"So all this was for nothing!" He shouted angrily.

"Believe me no one is more disappointed than I am." Stein voiced.

Caitlin stepped forward to apologize and reassure them they'd find what was wrong but was immediately shut down at Hewitt's cold response directed towards her.

"Yeah don't be so sure about that. Next time try to get your act together before you get someone's hopes up." He seethed before gathering up his coat and walking out.

Caitlin left stunned, unable to move. Her throat suddenly dry she turned away deflated and angry at herself.

* * *

With the unsuccessful merge between Hewitt and Stein, the team had to resort to involving the reluctant star football player. With an ambiguous invitation to visit them at S.T.A.R Labs. Caitlin buried her head in her hands as they waited for Jax to arrive.

"I'm really glad you decided to come."

Caitlin looked up as Jax walked into the room, with a curious look on his face. Caitlin rose from her chair, with her arms crossed over her chest.

"I thought S.T.A.R Labs had to shut down?" Jax said as he looked around the place.

"It's under new management." Barry replied.

"Woah what kind of treadmill is that?" Jax exclaimed with raised eyebrows.

"Cosmic." Cisco mumbled.

"Cool." He nodded turning his attention to the many faces in the room.

"So let's get started. You got some billion dollar tech gadget that's going to fix my knee."

"Actually Jax this isn't about fixing your knee." Barry started softly.

"What are you talking about?"

"When the particle accelerator exploded the energy wave that collided with you is known as dark matter." Caitlin began explaining.

"And it didn't just hurt your knee…" Barry added.

"It changed your molecular structure of your body." Stein finished.

"Wh-wh-Hold on green… so your saying I'm like one of those metahumans I hear about on the news?"

"Yes and please call me Professor."

"We think you have potential capabilities." Caitlin voiced stepping forward, all reluctance towards Jax pushed aside with the pressing matter of Stein's current health situation.

"What kind of capabilities?"

"Ah… the same as Professor stein. The ability for your body to process vison and fusion." Caitlin stated.

"And you can harness excess energy and turn it into this massive nuclear blasts and you can fly. There's also that." Cisco shrugged.

"So you can say you can do all this." Jax said skeptical.

"Only during times of convergence with a willing partner." Stein explained.

"Convergence? You and me?"

"Yes."

"Oh no this is crazy." Jax objected as he stepped forward ready to leave.

"Look Jax this is your chance to write the wrong that was done to you." Barry said trying to change his mind.

"Yeah sorry you got the wrong guy. I don't want _nothing_ to do with this."

"Wait a second. We're giving you that chance to be a superhero… and you're going to say no that quickly?" Caitlin yelled a little desperate.

"Yeah not my kind of thing." Jax rejected flatly.

"If the man isn't willing to participate-" Stein began.

"Look I saw your test scores Jax your grades were good enough to get into college but you didn't go… why?" Caitlin interrupted gaining closer towards Jax.

There was an immediate silence that followed her question. Jax just looked at Caitlin with a burning mistrust. Without a word he shook his head angrily as he turned to leave.

"Is this the type of guy you are… one set back and you fold? Then maybe you're not the guy for us anyways!" She said bluntly.

"Well maybe I'm not." Jax whispered.

"JAX!" Barry called after Jax but unwilling to plead him to stay.

"Maybe this wasn't meant to be." Stein said weakly as he too left the room for a bit of rest.

Caitlin frustrated with Jax with Hewitt… with herself turned away angrily.

"Cait wait wh-what do you mean… Jax could be our last chance to save Professor Stein." Barry voiced loudly his hand pointing out where Jax had exited.

"He said no to being a superhero who does that? I mean you didn't say no when you had the chance… Cisco would you?" Caitlin argued.

"The chance to have superpowers… sign me up." Cisco said shaky, backing away slowly to leave Caitlin and Barry alone.

"Look we're asking Jax to change his entire life. To sacrifice what he does have. That is not a decision that could be made lightly. It took me a long time to figure out this whole hero thing." Barry said using Caitin's own words against her.

Caitlin felt the growing agitation in her chest. _He didn't get it!_

"Exactly which is why we need someone who wants to do this!" She yelled back.

"Where are you going?" Barry asked his voice strained.

"To get Hewitt we have to try again." She replied as she yanked her coat off the back of the chair and stormed out of the room.

It wasn't long before Barry was following her.

"Cait… Cait—wait up we need to talk."

Caitlin didn't stop moving. They were running out of time. Stein needed someone and if Jax wasn't willing they need to get Hewitt back to try again.

"Barry…"

As Caitlin closed her eyes briefly to take a breath, she opened them to see Barry standing in front of her. Surprised, Caitlin wasn't fast enough to stop herself from crashing into him. Before she could stumble backwards, Barry got caught of her arms, steadying her still.

"Cait please." His voice was soft.

Caitlin pulled herself to look up at him. She could see the confusion and pain in his eyes. Opening her mouth she was suddenly lost for words… for an explanation.

"Barry I… I can't do this right now… we're running out of time. I need to go."

With those words, Caitlin fell out of Barry's hands, walking around him and towards the exit.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

* _CCPD*_

Barry was left empty, after having Caitlin walk out on him. He didn't know what to do. She wasn't talking to him. Feeling useless, Barry wandered into CCPD expecting to find Joe. As Barry peered up from his feet, he saw Joe slumped over by the window of his desk.

"Yo! Joe. Hey, you good? Everything alright?"

"Yeah I mean no… just had a hell of a day." Joe huffed out, slumping down on the windows ledge.

"Yeah?" Barry prompted.

"Iris' mother. She told me she was dying." Joe blurted out.

Barry didn't know what to say to that. He just waited for Joe to continue.

"Yeah. And I know Francine. She's telling the truth about this." Joe added, bowing his head down his voice soft and saddened.

"Okay. Does Iris know?" Barry asked concerned.

"Not yet." He replied looking up at Barry.

Barry pursed his lips. He didn't know how to help. As the silence filled the air in between the time Barry scoured his head for something reassuring to say, Joe distracted himself for his own problems by focusing on Barry's.

"Do you… Did you need something?" Joe asked, changing the topic from him to Barry.

"Ahh no… I just um…" Barry trailed off.

Barry looked up to Joe, who was staring at him intently with concern. Taking a deep breath Barry continued.

"Caitlin with everything going on with Professor Stein… I think it brought up unresolved issues about Ronnie… I don't know what to do."

"Look, Bar- You know this… from what happened to your mom. She just needs time."

"I guess… I'm just not sure."

"About what?"

Barry shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck he looked down to his feet.

"Let me ask you this then… why haven't you proposed yet?"

Barry looked up at his adoptive father. _How did he know?_

"I'm a detective Barry." Joe smirked.

Barry smiled shaking his head. Taking a deep breath, Barry looked away as he spoke.

"Ahh I—I want to Joe, I do. I'm just not sure if she's ready. Especially what she's dealing with right now."

Joe placed a hand on Barry's shoulder, pulling Barry to look at him.

"Bar—whatever she's going through I'm sure you'll figure it out… _together_. Talk to her. That's what marriage is about anyways. Understanding. Plus I don't see why you're still waiting… I see the way you look at her… you can't take your eyes off one another. You guys have been on and off the past two years and yet you still found a way back to each other after everything. You love her and you're never going to feel the same for anyone else so you can't let whatever is going on now from keeping you from exploring something new… your future together."

"You're right. She's great. The best thing that's ever happened to me… I do love her Joe… more than I never knew I could love someone."

"See kid, what you have there… it's rare. So hold on to it. Hold onto her and never let her go."

* * *

 _*S.T.A.R Labs*_

 _"What's being described as a spontaneous power malfunction erupted last night at EIKMEIER Technologies wanting for questioning is Scientist Henry Hewitt."_

"Hewitt's dormant abilities may have been triggered when we attempted the merger." Caitlin said shaking her head as they watched the news.

"This could be catastrophic. If he's powers are anything like mine, he requires a grounding mechanism to stabilize his volatility. Otherwise…" Stein trailed off.

"Yeah he's going to pop his top. And he's got a long history of violence according to his police record." Cisco stated.

"Police record?" Barry stammered his eyes snapping towards Caitlin with raised eyebrows.

"I didn't find a police record." Caitlin replied shakily as she raced over to the desk to look at what Cisco had found.

 _How could she not have found this?_ _How could she be so stupid?_ As she read over the file, Caitlin closed her eyes cursing herself. It was all her fault.

"Yeah of course not… it was sealed but guess what... your boy hacked in and hold on… wait for it… one count battery two counts aggravated assault… ordered anger management therapy." Cisco began to list.

"He's seemed like a nice guy. He even knew your Hudson nerd song." Caitlin whispered he voice low and defeated.

"Woah you okay?" Barry raised his voice in concern as he held out is hand to keep Stein from falling.

Caitlin's eyes snapped up immediately to the Professor. He seemed pale and weak. Speeding back around Caitlin held onto Stein as he used her for support.

"It appears Mr Hewitt's stability isn't the only one in question. I think I need to lie down." Stein smiled as he nodded reassuringly towards Caitlin.

"Yeah I'll come with you." Cisco offered as he took Caitlin's place and helped Stein to the med bay.

"Thank you."

* * *

 _ **Caitlin's POV**_

Caitlin placed her hands on her hips as she dipped her head down. _This was her fault. All of it._ Frustrated at herself, Caitlin's eyes began to well up. Wiping a tear away just before anyone could notice… Caitlin turn away taking a deep breath to steady herself.

"Professor Stein is getting worse and Hewitt's like this because of me. This is all my fault. And now Jefferson Jackson may never come back because of what I said. I just didn't believe he had what it takes." She whispered as she wrapped her hands around her.

Caitlin closed her eyes, the tears she fought to hold back, silently falling down her cheek. The was a small quiet silence until she felt the warmth of Barry's arm wrap tightly around her, embracing her close to him. Caitlin leaned her head to his cheek, unable to control the tears the continued to spill down her eyes.

"This isn't because you didn't believe in him. I know you… with everyone we've come across you've tried to save every single one of them… you were always the first one to see… no to believe in the good in them. It's one of the many reasons I feel in love with you. It's just sometimes possibilities are in front of us and we don't see them because we choose not to. I think we need to be open to exploring something new. All you have to do is talk to me… please." He whispered as he held her more tightly.

Caitlin took a deep breath, as Barry loosened his grip around her, Caitlin turned around in his arms. With one of his hands Barry reached up wiping away the tears, drawing his fingers under her chin, willing her to look at him.

"Just talk to me." He pleaded.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. It's all my fault." She sobbed.

"It's not your fault Cait." He whispered.

"It is Barry. My fault that Hewitt's like this… my fault Ronnie's dead and now Stein… It's why I had to do this… it's why I need this to work. I know I should have told you but I didn't know how. I didn't want you to think… I just needed to do this. I needed to do this for Ronnie."

"It's okay… I get it now. I just wished you told me sooner. But Cait—Cait look at me." He pleaded, placing his hands on either side of her face, her eyes looking squarely into his.

"You're not to blame for Hewitt. He chose to try and merge with Stein and you have to stop blaming yourself for Ronnie. It was his choice to stay and be with you. He chose to save you… save this city. You can't blame yourself for his decision okay." He finished as her to his chest, holding her tight.

* * *

* _Mechanic's Garage*_

After her talk with Barry, Caitlin knew what she had to do. As she parked her car, Caitlin stepped out dusting off her coat as she approached the garage door.

"Let me guess you don't have car troubles" Jax said as he caught sight of her.

"I came to apologise. I'm sorry for what I said." She replied stopping unsure whether to come closer or not.

"It's fine. Apology accepted." He said curtly.

"Look we could really use your help to save Professor Stein."

"That desperate huh?" he laughed as he wiped the grease off his hands.

"Yes. My husband Ronnie. He used to be Professor Stein's other half. He actually helped build the particle accelerator and when it exploded he was affected by it too. Ironically that was how he got the chance to show the world what he was truly capable of… and he died saving this city." She explained, unable to keep the pain from leaking into her voice.

"Wait… he was the guy that flew into the black hole?"

Caitlin just nodded.

"That was him?"

"He was a hero. You can be one too." She said genuinely.

"I never wanted to be a hero. What I wanted was to go to college. When we couldn't afford it football was my way in until it got taken away from me." He replied honestly.

Caitlin bowed her head. There was still so many things that she and Cisco had to make amends for, especially after everything the particle accelerator _they_ helped Wells build did to the people of Central City… and helping Jax find his true potential was a good start.

"I know. Look I know the particle accelerator took something from you but it also gave you something in return… something even more spectacular. The opportunity to be a part of something bigger… to be part of a team that's working to protect people from losing what you lost. I believe you were meant to be a hero." She encouraged.

"Woah hold on." Jax interrupted holding up his hands.

The sudden flickers of light and sparks, Caitlin jumped when a figure emerged from out of the shadows.

"I've been looking for you Dr Snow!" Hewitt smirked with a deadly look in his eye.

* * *

* _S.T.A.R Labs*_

As Caitlin arrived back at S.T.A.R Labs she was heaving, trying to catch her breath before she heard Barry call out her name.

"Caitlin!" Barry breathed out.

"What's wrong?" Caitlin asked as she raced into the med bay in a panic.

"Come here!" He called.

"Oh good you're here this thing ran out like 30minutes ago." Cisco indicated to the tacion device.

"His temperature is 142 degrees and rising fast." Caitlin relayed over as she quickly assessed over Stein's vitals.

"He's going into rapid oxidation we need to find a coolant." She ordered.

"I think it's a little too late for that." Barry whispered as he tried keep Stein down as he began to seize uncontrollable.

"I'll do it. I'll merge with him." Jax said.

Looking up, Caitlin had for a moment forgot that Jax was with her.

"You said this was my chance to be a part of something bigger than myself. To help people. That's what I want." He nodded in her direction.

Caitlin gave him a small smile before she had to return her focus back on Stein.

"You sure? Once you merge there's no going back on this." Barry said.

"You said I can fly?" Jax asked looking towards Cisco.

"Damn right." He smiled as he ran over to get the splicer.

"So what do I need to do?"

"Well here's the abridge version." Cisco began explaining as he took Jax into the middle of the cortex, priming the splicer to his chest.

"Professor you need to wake up... Professor Jax is here." Barry cooed as he helped Stein out of the bed.

"Jax?"

Caitlin went to the opposite side, helping Barry carry Stein into the other room.

"You came back Jefferson… Thank you."

"Just like my coach always said: Out of yourself and into the team."

"So how does this work?" Jax asked.

"Okay… all you got to do is touch him." Cisco explained.

"And then what happens?"

"You become F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M." Caitlin replied with a warm smile.

"Okay."

Turning to Stein, Caitlin caught Barry's eye. Acknowledging her, both her and Barry carefully removed themselves for Stein's side, Caitlin a bit wary that Stein was going to fall without them but miraculously was stable enough to hold himself up long enough for him to merge with Jax.

As Jax burned into a stable flame of red, Caitlin stepped forward.

"Jax? Is Professor Stein?..." she tested wary.

"How will I know?" Jax replied.

After a moment's pause, Caitlin sighed in relief as she noticed Jax's surprised expression. _It worked!_

"Oh so I get Green as my co-pilot… so when do we get to take this for a test spin."

Suddenly the alerts on the computer began to beep. Cisco raced around to see what the alert called them to.

"How about now? Looks like Hewitt's recharging at Central City football stadium."

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

* _Stein's Residence*_

After and explosive night, Barry felt as though everything was moving back into place. He's mind was finally settled after having found understanding in why Caitlin was acting so determined and why she had kept what she was doing from him. She needed the time to put the guilt she had been carrying to rest and figure a way to let her past go.

Stepping down the front porch of Stein's house, Barry gave a gentle squeeze ton Caitlin's arm as they prepared to say their goodbyes.

"And how is Mr Hewitt?" Stein asked.

"Ah seems like that last burst of energy burnt him out."

"Our tokem man's gone dark" Cisco joked.

"Yeah we're just going to keep him safe and sound in the pipeline until he decides to keep quiet about all of this." Barry smiled.

"So you going to meet up with Clarissa?" Joe asked.

"We're meeting in Pittsburgh in 3 days."

"Why Pittsburgh?" Jax interrupted.

"Ahh colleague of mine was instrumental in training Ronald and me and she's graciously offered to help the two of us as well."

"How is she going to help us?"

"Well there were many aspects of our abilities that we never quite achieved, and hopefully now we can fully realize that potential." Stein finished.

Caitlin snaked her way of Barry's arms to face Professor Stein. She always hated goodbyes.

"Oh my dearest Dr Snow. Ronald maybe lost to us but he will never be forgotten." He hummed bringing her into an embrace.

As Barry watched Caitlin make her goodbyes to Stein, he then too in turn made his farewells as Caitlin took Jackson aside.

After a moment alone, Barry couldn't overhear what she was saying but he saw her as she handed him a compass. There he smiled. He knew the compass had belonged to Ronnie. In her way, this was her saying goodbye. This was her letting go.

Turning away before she could catching him staring Barry, re-joined the laughter and conversation between the rest of the team.

Jax and Caitlin soon joined them, Caitlin curling herself into Barry as they all huddled into a circle.

"Let's get this show on the road… or to the sky if I am to be literal." Stein laughed as he patted Jax's shoulder.

"Are you ready Jefferson?"

Jax nodded. And in a slight tough, both Stein and Jax merged into F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. With a final nod, F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M rocketed into the sky and out into the world.

"Alright." Joe coughed.

Barry brought his eyes back down, specifically seeking out Caitlin's. Caitlin smiled up at him, and he felt his heart lift.

"I'll see you at home?" She whispered.

"Yeah." He replied kissing her on the lips.

Barry watched beside Joe, as Caitlin left with Cisco in the S.T.A.R Labs van. Waving goodbye as they drove out, Barry turned to Joe a breathed out a heavy sigh. _It had been a long and an emotionally exhausting day._

"That's some leap of faith that kid took merging with Stein." Joe said as they began walking back to Joe's car.

"Yeah it was." Barry agreed.

"Maybe there's a lesson somewhere in there for you." Joe hinted as he nudged him in the side.

 _Maybe there is._ Barry hummed with a wide grin.

* * *

 _Things aren't always as they seem our fears can play tricks on us making us afraid to change course… afraid to move on… but usually hidden behind our fears are second chances waiting to be seized. Second chances at life… at glory… at family… at love. And these opportunities don't come by everyday so when they do we have to be brave… take a chance and grab them while we can._

As Barry sped through the streets of Central City, everything around him seemed to be buzzing with life. At that moment he felt electrified. With a renewed sense of clarity, he knew why everything was so much more vivid. He had a second chance at the life he thought was taken away by fate… he had a second chance at love. A second chance at the only love he needed. Caitlin. With every foot forward, Barry ignited every cell in his body, eager to get home. First he needed to take a small detour back to the station.

Arriving fast at his destination, Barry skidded to a halt when a gigantic shark towered over him with a grimacing smile that threatened his death. Barry eyes traced up the body of the shark where his eyes met blood rimmed, razor sharp teeth. Swallowing hard, Barry took an instinctive step back. Before he had time to react at the reality of what he was seeing… or even to the danger the shark presented him with, the shark had latched onto his throat squeezing with a death gripping pressure that had Barry scratching at his enemies hands for the slightest release.

"Zoom wants you dead." The shark grunted as he tightened his grip around Barry's throat.

Barry felt as the pressure built up in his chest, as his lungs fought for air. Barry heaving tried ignoring the sharp pain that rose in his chest as he fought uselessly against the man shark. Fighting the darkness that began to cloud his head as he drew weaker, Barry heard the faint screams of a familiar voice.

"PUT HIM DOWN. Put your hands- FINS IN THE AIR!" she ordered.

Shoots

Mystery man shoots the shark paralysed and on the ground.

"Who the hell are you?" Barry choked as he tried to restore his breathing.

When the man drops the hood, exposing his identity, Barry finds as his muscles tenses, his mouth dry for words as he stares at the face of the man that has caused him so much pain and grief. That man was…

 _Harrison Wells._


	5. Blind New Truths

_**Hey guys... Long wait I know but here it is chp 5 based on S2 Ep 5. Pre warning... not as much snowbarry in this chapter than I would have liked but I PROMISE it will be made up to you guys in the next chapter. (and the ones to follow). Hope you enjoy!**_

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own the Flash nor it's characters_**

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

Barry stood guarded, his arms crossed over his chest, a foot in front of Caitlin, ready to speed her out of there in a moments beat that something were to go wrong.

"It's strange to be holding your autobiography especially when you didn't write it. And it's not about you." Wells grumbled as he shut the book close with a thud.

"Dr Caitlin Snow, Cisco Ramon… meet Dr Harrison Wells from Earth Two." Barry introduced with his lips pierced together.

"Hi" Cisco murmured glaring intently at the man in front of them.

"Hi." Wells nodded back.

"So let me get this straight… you're the doppelgänger to the man who murdered his mom and is responsible for both Ronnie and Eddie's deaths?" Cisco interrupted the growing tension.

"But he's not even the doppelgänger of the Dr Wells we knew because that Dr Wells' body had been taken over by the Reverse Flash who was really Eobard Thawne and Eddie's distant relative from the future." Caitlin said without taking a breath.

Barry clenched his fist as he turned to see Caitlin now right beside him. He want to protectively distance her away from this Wells but knew how independently strong willed she was. She'd never shy away from danger… from being in the thick of things with him. It was one of the many reasons he loved her… but also one of them that always had him on edge.

"Yeah I didn't follow any of that. I am my own man and nothing to with the murder of your mom and your friend _Ricky_." Wells countered.

"His name was Ronnie!" Caitlin replied abruptly.

"Him either." Wells replied just as promptly.

"You told me you had proof of your identity?" Barry raised his eyebrows, stepping forward.

Barry watched cautiously, as Wells pivoted around towards his bag, scavenging out something familiar.

"This almost hit me when I went through the portal." Wells extended his arm out holding the bag he most certainly knew Professor Stein had threw in once they had the breach stabilized.

"Your stabilized breach downstairs connects directly to the S.T.A.R Labs on my Earth." Wells informed them.

Out from behind him again, Caitlin rounded around him, reaching out and grabbing hold of the bag.

"Technically this could be mine but I want to run some tests on you." Caitlin said.

"I'll be genetically indistinguishable from my Earth One counterpart. You're tests would reveal nothing." Wells retorted.

"Great! Still going to run them." Caitlin said flatly.

"Be my guest." Wells said his eyes narrowing.

"Why are we even listening to him? How are we know he's not evil like the other guy?" Cisco pointed aggressively towards Wells.

Barry couldn't disagree… there was something that this man was hiding and until they figured out what… he was going to do what Wells had done. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

"He saved my life last night…. The question is why? I'm guessing you didn't just travel through dimensions just to meet the Flash" Barry said sarcastically.

"That's exactly what I did! I came here to help you Barry. To stop your greatest enemy." Wells implied.

"He already did that." Cisco muttered.

"I'm not talking about Reverse Flash. I'm talking about Zoom!" Wells protested.

Barry caught as Caitlin nodded slightly at the recognition of Zoom's name. Wells too must have caught it as he began to speak once again.

"I see you've already heard of him." Wells eyes widened a little bit surprised.

"Yeah Zoom has been sending metahumans from your world through the breaches to fight me." Barry said.

"Well… they're the symptoms. Zoom's the plague. The one who's infected my world and now he's coming for yours."

"What do you know about him?" Barry probed.

"Everything. I created Zoom."

There was a beat of silence. No one knew how to react. In that beat, everyone just looked at each other trying to gauge the truth in what this man was saying. Before any one of them could speak Wells' voice filled the void.

"I'm responsible for all the Earth Two metahumans. A fact I've ignored for far too long… and now I'm doing something about it."

"Yeah well… we're batting a thousand against these breachers." Cisco said with distain.

"You're batting a thousand Crisco? What's your sample size? Ten? Less?... Zoom is _obsessed_ with speed. He will never allow there to be another speedster in the multiverse. And he is going to keep sending these metas here one after the next all with the same goal. To kill the Flash. Unless we stop him… together!" Wells shouted raising his hands.

"Last time we listened to a guy with your face some bad things went down." Cisco spat back.

"We lost people we cared about." Caitlin added her voice small at the memory of the loss they all experienced.

"Everyone loses someone they care about Snow. The real test of character is what you do once they're gone." Wells replied his voice a little softer.

Sudden loud bangs. Barry turns around the room around him slowing down as he moved. Sees Joe fire his gun three times. Barry catches each bullet in time before they hit Wells.

"JOE PUT THE GUN DOWN!" Barry shouted from across the room.

"HOW IS HE STILL ALIVE? HOW YOU STILL ALIVE?" Joe screamed as he came barrelling down the room towards Wells.

"I don't know…. BECAUSE YOU MISSED!" Wells shouted back.

"Hey I'm trying to keep him from shooting you… you're not helping!" Barry said looking back to Wells as he tried to hold Joe back.

"Let's take a walk… it's all good." Barry ushered Joe back.

* * *

* _Jitters*_

Reluctantly leaving Caitlin at S.T.A.R Labs with Dr Wells, Barry took Cisco for a drink and a well needed break from the craziness that engulfs their lives.

As the bell chimed, welcoming them into the café, Barry snaked his way past the people leaving and poised himself behind the numerous people in line for coffee.

"You do realize when I said I wanted a drink… I didn't mean a latte right? I was talking about alcohol… like mind numbing alcohol…" Cisco grunted as he eyed the long line in front of them.

Barry smiled at him apologetically but alcohol wasn't going to solve any of their problems or answer any of the questions.

"Alight look… you got to give him a chance okay? He's not a speedster. He's just a regular normal guy. From another universe." Barry huffed out trying to take his own advice, even though a part of him still held some serious reservations and trust issues.

"I'd never thought I'd never miss time travel." Cisco whispered sarcastically.

"Time Travel huh?" Patty's voice rang out from behind them.

Barry flinched, startled both he and Cisco turned around to see a promising, young eager detective beaming brightly at them behind her long lashes.

"Hey are you kidding?" Barry coughed trying to hide his obvious surprise.

"Hi... Is there a metahuman that could time travel?" Patty said almost bouncing at the prospect of a metahuman with such powers.

"Ti—Time travel no… time travel's not real." Barry shook his head vigorously trying to play down the idea.

"Cause that would be pretty COOL!" Patty gleamed.

Barry turned to Cisco wide eyed, both of them laughing nervously.

"Not so sure about that." Cisco mumbled under his breath.

"Patty you know Cisco Ramon right?" Barry introduced.

"Yeah you're the scientific advisor on metahumans to the CCPD right?"

"Yeah that's right." Cisco smile broadly at the recognition.

"Hey Barry did you hear I was right about the King Shark?" Patty changed the topic almost immediately.

"King Shark? Nice name. " Cisco said impressed.

"I like her." He mouthed towards Barry.

"Yeah King Shark almost beat the Flash." Patty replayed.

"Oh no… I'm sure the Flash had it handled." Barry objected subtly on defence.

"No I was there… I saw it all. Some hooded guy saved his life." Patty protested.

"Wait and you're not traumatized or anything?" Cisco looked at her weirdly.

"I just watched a half man half shark take on the fastest man alive. I LOVE THIS CITY!" Patty jumped, a large smile playing on her lips.

Barry couldn't help but laugh as he caught Cisco's eye. The sudden buzzing of her phone pulled her attention away. Barry crossed his arms over his chest as he and Cisco waited patiently for their turn to order their drinks.

"Let's see… sorry.. oh Captain just texted me. He wants me to write up my police report. Or you might want to write it with me?" She suggested hopeful towards Barry.

Barry caught off guard, almost choked as he swallowed. With a double take at Cisco and then back towards Patty, he finally found his words.

"Oh I can't tonight. I'm… I'm busy tonight I'm sorry." Barry apologized.

"Oh yeah alight. Okay." Patty mumbled deflated.

"I just got science stuff. Stuff I got to science the stuff out of and I have an important date with my girlfriend. Um so maybe next time." He rejected kindly seeing her disappointment.

"Yeah coolio. Alright I'm just going to skip the coffee and get a head start." She turned feeling a bit better.

Cisco had already ordered when Patty left to say her goodbyes. Next in line, Barry dug into his back pocket seeking out his wallet. As he began to pull it out, something fell to the floor with a small thud. Realizing what it was, Barry immediately knelt to the floor just as Cisco turned around in that exact same moment.

"Dude… wha? Ah nah! I love you man bu—" He gaped.

"Shut up Cisco. It's not for you." He rolled his eyes scooping up the box into his hand.

"For real? Man that's awesome! Have you done it yet? Wait no cause you still have the ring."

"Yeah I was going to propose and then a man shark tried to eat me and Dr Wells the sequel showed up."

"Okay can we not use the name Dr Wells… I'm just going to call him Harry." Cisco shivered.

"Okay Harry." Barry muttered in agreement.

"There's always going to be Harry's out there… but you can't let the Harry's of the world get in the way of you living your life. Ask Caitlin to marry you already. You got to be bold." Cisco encouraged happily as he patted Barry on the shoulder.

"That's some talk… when's the last time you were bold and asked some girl for their number?" Barry challenged raising his eyebrows.

"Watch and learn."

"I'm watching." Barry smirked after Cisco.

"Hi what can I get you?" The barista said autonomously.

"Hi there" Cisco gleamed.

"Hey again." She replied eyeing Cisco suspiciously.

"Umm…" Cisco stammered.

Barry couldn't watch. He could see this going down and going down fast and there was nothing he could do but watch.

"Do you want some coffee?" She asked when a moment of awkward silence grew between them

"Yes I'll get some coffee… no... Um I don't want coffee… You know what I do want though… I want to ask you this… You want to go out with me?" he attempted to flirt.

Barry shook his head, bringing a hand over his eyes. This was just too painful to watch he laughed.

"Oh…"

"T – I mean w—we could go for coffee or…"

"No." She said flatly.

 _Ouch!_ Barry winced at the rejection. As much as he knew he should keep listening nor watching… it was like a bad soap opera that gets you hooked. He just couldn't look away.

"That's a no. That's cool. That's total cool. Respect." Cisco stuttered before taking his coffee and turning to leave.

As Cisco brushed past him, Barry placed a firm pat on his shoulder trying to console him.

"You dude you good… it's her loss. Hey what's up?" Barry noticed as Cisco stared off absent-mindedly in front of him.

"We have another breacher." Cisco whispered under his breath.

"How do you know?" Barry replied seriously, a concerned expression over his face.

"Central City bank you got to go now." Cisco said urgently, pushing him to go.

"Alright." Barry nodded concerned but left in a flash.

* * *

* _S.T.A.R Labs*_

"Her name is Dr Light. Small time thief on my Earth until exposed to the dark matter from the particle accelerator making her a metahuman with the ability to derive power from star light."

"Woah very cool." Cisco mumbled amused.

"Stars have a temperature from 300 degrees Kalvin and a blinding luminosity… I would say not very cool. At all!" Harry scolded.

"You know our Dr Wells may be evil but you're just a _dick_!" Cisco spat, crossing his arms across his chest.

Barry turned away to hide his amusement, catching from the corner of his eye as Caitlin turned away stifling a laugh of her own.

"Okay so obviously Zoom brought her here from your Earth just like the others." Barry coughed clearing his throat, trying to get back to business.

"Ahem and we already know that and we can use that to gain advantage." Harry stated.

"What do you mean?" Barry interrupted a little lost.

"We capture Dr Light and use her to lure Zoom here." Harry planned.

"YOU ARE INSANE! Okay we are not luring Zoom anywhere!" Jay exclaimed outraged entering the room.

"Apparently they know each other and Jay is not a fan." Caitlin whispered in Barry's ear.

A quick glance in her direction, Barry understood that she must have called Jay to confirm their doubts about Harry.

"Well… well… well… Like everyone else I assumed our Earth Two Flash was dead. Why am I not surprised to find Jay Garrick here still alive and in hiding. A full universe away from Zoom." Harry spat.

"I'm not in hiding! Zoom nearly killed me and stole my speed before the singularity pulled me here." Jay yelled defensively.

"Is that right?" Harry replied in disbelief.

"Yeah that's right." Jay said with confidence.

"Well whatever the case. In your absence, Zoom has only gotten more powerful. Faster… Barry. If you happen to defeat Zoom now while you still can."

"No… this isn't a time to be reckless. We don't even know why Zoom sent Dr Light here. She's a thief not a killer."

Barry's eyes darted back and forth between both Harry and Jay as they fought against each other to advise Barry on what to do. Barry shook his head disgruntled. He didn't need other voices in his head telling him what to do. He was already conflicted, and having another two people voicing their adamant thoughts just wasn't helping him think clearly.

"Zoom can make people do things that are out of character. Thief or not… she'll kill you."

Fed up with all the yelling Barry stepped forward with hands raised.

"Alright look! Hey we can decide what to do with Light later… first we have to find her. Okay?" He said trying to stay calm.

Both Harry and Jay looked away from each other, turning to Barry they nodded in agreement. With a small smile, Barry let out a deep breath as he turned his back to have a private word with Cisco. A question that had been nagging him since earlier today.

Stepping aside, Barry pulled Cisco to the side so they were out of prying ears.

"Hey how did you know he was breaking into the bank?" Barry whispered, his voice stained with concern and curiousity.

"I—I got an alert on my phone like a little ring a ding every time there's a robbery." Cisco stuttered.

"What?" Barry asked confused.

"You know what…. I think I can get the S.T.A.R Labs satellite to scan for any irregular solar radiation emissions and then we can find Dr Light's… light?" Cisco said flustered, slightly diverting the conversation.

Barry let the conversation drop sensing that Cisco wasn't up for talking. He fell silent as he watched Cisco begin working to reposition the satellites.

With Cisco, focused on finding Dr Light, Barry moved towards Caitlin.

"Hey." He whispered leaning against the desk so he could face her.

"Hey." She whispered back her voice dropping low.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. What makes you think I'm not?" she replied, straightening herself up.

"Because I know you. And your biting down on your bottom lip."

"I really got to stop doing that!"

"Seriously Cait—I know seeing Wells… I mean Harry isn't easy. For any of us. I'm here if you need me."

"I know. And I love you for that. But I'm fine. I promise. And I'm not just saying that. It's just strange seeing him that's all." She smiled, stepping forward wedging herself between his legs.

"Alright… I'm also going to give Joe a call to see if CCPD have any leads… how about we try keeping them apart until I get back." Barry replied snaking his arms around her waist, interlocking his fingers together as he pulled her close.

"I'm sure that's not going to be a problem." She laughed.

"I'll see you later?" She asked.

Barry just nodded. Caitlin wrapped her arms around his neck leaning into his shoulder. Barry held her tight in his embrace. He pulled back slightly so his lips brushed ever so slightly against her ear.

"I'll see you at dinner tonight. There's something we need to talk about." He said secretively before he pulled away to kiss her goodbye.

"Okay." She smiled against his lips.

* * *

* _A few hours later back at S.T.A.R Labs*_

"I still can't see… how long is this going to last?" Barry grunted. As everything around him was engulfed by darkness.

"You're suffering from solar retinopathy. You're retinas are _severely_ damaged. You're lucky you're not permanently blind." Caitlin scoffed as she moved away from him, or so he assumed she did.

"But with your rapid regeneration abilities your sight should return soon." Jay countered his voice more encouraging.

"6.25 hours by my estimations. All this could have been avoided if you had just stopped Light instead of chit chatting with her." Harry exclaimed frustrated.

"She caught Barry off guard." Jay argued in his defense.

Barry shook his head. This was not how he had planned this night to go. Nope. It was certainly not Barry sighed as he listened to everyone else continue to argue around him.

"Always an excuse with you right? He's the fastest man alive… how could she possible do that?" Harry yelled, his hands rising to the air.

"Because Light looks exactly like someone I know. Linda Park." Barry muttered, as he recalled seeing Light's face.

"That's why Zoom sent her. Because he knew you'd hesitate." Harry breathed out heavily.

"That means Zoom would have to know somehow that you knew Linda somehow." Cisco suggested.

"Which is why Barry has to act now before Zoom sends another double from Barry's life." Harry continued to say in a heightened voice.

"Right now… I'm more worried about Linda. When I saw who was under the mask. I said her name. What if Light realized she had a doppelgänger here until I accidently told her?" Barry said his brows creasing together in concern.

"The first thing that Atom Smasher did when he crossed the breach was to find and kill his doppelgänger." Cisco mumbled.

"But Light's not like that Atom Smasher." Jay reasoned.

"We need to keep an eye on your Linda."

"Alright I'll go." Barry huffed out, jumping off the stretcher assuming he was facing the way out.

As he's feet found the floor, Barry crashed into Caitlin, almost knocking her to the floor, but somehow he managed to catch her before she feel.

"Oh sorry." He whispered as he held her in his arms. Feeling that she was firmly on two feet, Barry pushed himself around her, heading straight towards the exit.

"Bro!" Cisco exclaimed.

"Barry…" Caitlin called after him, her voice tense.

Sensing nothing in his way, Barry continued casually forward as the rest of the team watched him hurtle forwards.

"What? Woahh." He winced when solid metal came in contact with his shoulder, sending him spinning around until he found his feet once again.

"Okay… okay you can't do anything until your sight returns. No, no, no come one here's the rail here… I'll do it." Jay offered, as he helped Barry to the rail behind the desk and took off to keep an eye on Linda.

"Thanks." Barry said after him.

"I should go with him. He doesn't even know who Linda is." Caitlin huffed out. Barry felt as one of her hands slid across his cheek, Barry turned to the right so he could face her.

"I'll be back." She whispered before quickly kissing him squarely on the lips.

Barry heard as her footsteps disappeared after Jay. Barry dropped his head below his shoulders as he leaned away from the desk. He couldn't believe how the day was turning out. For once he'd wish he could just catch his breath. Suddenly the rush of footsteps racing into the cortex, caused Barry to jolt his head back up in the direction of the oncoming motion.

"Hey Barry I came as soon as I heard… he… you looks just like him." Iris' voice trailed off.

Barry's lips drew in a tight line. She must have met Harry.

"I guess my counterpart did something to offend her as well?" He heard Harry ask Cisco.

"Her fiancé died because of him." Cisco revealed.

"Oh."

"Iris… I know it's weird seeing him."

"Yeah it's just a lot to process lately." She breathed out her attention focused somewhere else.

"Wells… my mother…" she continued.

"How are you doing with that by the way?" Barry asked genuinely concerned.

"I mean now that she's gone… okay." She shrugged, leaning herself against Barry.

"Yeah Iris um look you know you can talk to me about it?" He whispered as reached out for her hand.

"Yeah I know but really I'm fine okay. I should really be asking you how you're doing." She smiled, taking Barry's outstretched hands in her own and patting them gently.

Barry opened his mouth to speak when his phone started ringing absurdly loud against the desk.

"That's me… I got it." Barry said fumbling his way through the darkness towards the sound.

"Barry let me help you." Iris chuckled as she rounded the desk capturing his phone.

"Totally forgot about our dinner plans… you said we had something important to talk about… reschedule for tomorrow? Cait-" Iris read out loud.

Barry's head fell into his hands. Definitely not the night he had planned. Frustrated, Barry breathed out a heavy sigh.

"Something important? What couldn't wait?" Iris interrogated curiously, her tone of voice playful.

"Um I was going to propose tonight." Barry confessed.

"Where's Cait?" Iris yelped excitedly.

"She went with Jay to keep an eye on Linda." Barry grunted.

"Have they left yet?" She pressed.

"Yeah just now… they're probably in the car park right about now." Barry shrugged, unable to read the expression on Iris' face for obvious reasons.

"Okay I'll text her… I'll go with Jay. You're going to dinner." She jumped excitedly.

"Really you'd do that?" Barry smiled, facing his best friend.

"Of course… hey Cisco… PA to tell them to wait." She yelled towards Cisco.

Before Iris tore out of the room, Barry pulled her into a tight hug. He couldn't explain just how much this meant to him.

"Thank you."

* * *

* _Rooftop Restaurant*_

After Barry hand finished with the waiter, Barry casually made his way back to his table. As Barry stumbled around the restaurant, he focused his other senses to find her. Waiting for him across the room, Barry followed the scent of vanilla and roses to his table.

"Sorry… sorry…" Barry apologized after bumping to what he assumed was a waiter.

As Barry's body hit the back of the chair, he heard the quiet chuckles coming from the other side of the table. A genuine smile spread across his face as he imagined the bright expression on her face.

"You look amazing by the way." Barry stammered as he pulled out his chair and took a seat.

"Barry your blind." Caitlin laughed as she took her seat.

"Yeah but you always look beautiful… I don't need my sight to see that." Barry smirked as he looked in her general direction.

"You don't look half bad yourself."

Both of them burst into laughter.

"Why don't you order some champagne?" Barry said nervously shifting in his seat.

"Sure." She smiled.

Barry heard as Caitlin called over a waiter, ordering them a bottle. Barry waited as she spoke to the waiter. Fidgeting nervously, Barry felt as the palms of his hands begin to sweat and his heart rate begin to rise. Over and over, Barry began to recite what he was going to say.

"So what was so important you need to tell me and why did we have to go to dinner?"

Barry reached out blindly across the table, holding out his hand. He waited until the warmth of Caitlin's skin found his. Barry took a deep breath, his fingers grazing over her knuckles as he found the words he wanted to say.

"Um… there's so many thing I want to say… I just don't know where to start…" Barry breathed out.

Suddenly, the world suddenly started coming into view. If Barry thought he was lost for words before, one look at the woman sitting before him, Barry let the rest of world fall away as he took in the beauty of the woman he loved.

"Wow…" Barry breathed.

"What?" Caitlin's hand gripped onto his tighter, her expression turning serious as she looked over him with a frantic eye. Assessing for any sign for something that could be wrong.

"You're more beautiful than I imagined." Barry smiled his eyes grazing over her body.

Caitlin sat in front of him, a lovely shade of red flooding to her cheeks. He watched her, taking in every detail. Memorizing how she looked away slightly flustered, her hair falling around her face, framing her delicate features. The way her big brown eyes peered back up at him through her luscious lashes. His heart skipped a beat as she stared back at him, her eyes boring themselves into the depths of his soul. He wasn't sure if she knew how he made her feel, but at any moment he was about to let her know just how much.

"Wait… you can see." Caitlin muttered as her mouth dropped open. Barry began to laugh, but stopped himself as he saw the waiter approach behind her carrying over the tray of champagne. Barry drew in a deep breath, ready to make the best decision of his life.

"Yeah I can. And just on time… here's the champagne. Cait—I" Barry began to say just as the waiter approached placing their glasses on the table.

As Barry began to recite the words he had been longing to say, they were crudely interrupted by the incessant buzzing of her phone. Barry watched as Caitlin mouthed an apology, she pulled her hand away as she reached into her purse, she pulling out her phone she read the message.

"It's Iris… somethings happened." Caitlin told Barry, her face pulling into a serious expression.

"I'm sorry but they need us back at S.T.A.R Labs. I'll go get the car…" she trailed off, pushing herself out of the chair and kissing Barry quickly on the cheek before leaving to get their car.

"Yeah I'll be with you in a sec I'll just get the cheque." Barry called after.

As Barry watched her fall out of view, he slumped back into his chair, his eyes stuck on the untouched glasses of bubbly. Breathing out an exasperated sigh, Barry reached out across the table, picking up one of the glasses he began pouring its contents into another glass prepared on the table. As the alcohol drained out of the glass, Barry reached in with his thumb and forefinger, cradling an engagement ring in his hands. He took a moment, staring at the ring; he caught sight of Caitlin coming back into the restaurant. In that instant, Barry patted the ring dry before shoving it back in his pocket.

As Caitlin approached the table, Barry had pulled out his wallet to pay for the cheque.

"Ready?" Caitlin called as she stopped beside him.

"Yep." Barry whispered as he wrapped a hand around her waist as they began to walk out.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

* _S.T.A.R Labs*_

After a very eventful and dramatic night, Caitlin was ready for the day to be over. As she walked back into the cortex, she was glad when she caught Barry's eyes on her. She smiled broadly at him. After a day like today, all she wanted to do was curl up in front of a fire wrapped up in the strength of his arms.

"Dr Light is safely locked in the pipeline." Caitlin said dusting off her hands.

"Nicely done."

"Wells... thank you for helping Barry put away Dr Light." Barry said with a small smile.

"So what do we do now?"

"We do what Dr Wells said. We use her to lure Zoom here. And end this once and for all."

"You can't be serious?" Caitlin exclaimed, unable to hide her shock.

"More breachers are going to come. More innocent people may die. I can't let this happen anymore." Barry explained.

"You're making a mistake. Okay Zoom is a nightmare you can't wake up from." Jay protested.

"I've already had my worst nightmare. His name was Reverse Flash. I spent a long time being afraid of him. I'm not going to be afraid anymore." Barry said as he shook his head.

"Okay Barry… you may be faster than me but you're not ready to fight zoom by yourself." Jay voiced loudly as he pointed towards Barry.

"That's just it Jay. I'm not going to fight him by myself. I've got all of them to fight with me. I've got Dr Wells. I've got you…" Barry gestured towards Jay as he looked around the room.

"No I can't in good conscience help you when I know it will only lead to you speed or worse you death."

"Optimism must be an Earth one thing." Cisco said as he eyed Jay leaving.

"All of you have to ask yourself why this man for years wouldn't admit he was responsible for the particle accelerator exploding underground. He might not be the Harrison Wells from your earth but he has just as much secrets."

"Jay please don't go." Caitlin pleaded with him as he turned to leave.

"I'm sorry Caitlin."

Caitlin stared after him in disbelief. She knew they needed all the help they could get if they stood any chance in defeating Zoom. The needed his help to make sure they survived. She needed him to help her protect the man she loved. She needed Jay to help her save Barry.

* * *

* _Jitters*_

As that night turned into day, Cisco suggested they go for an early coffee before they split up to take some time for a much deserved nap. Caitlin was so tired, yet reluctantly agreed to go.

"Are you okay?" Barry asked concerned.

Barry's broke Caitlin out of her thoughts. She turned to face him, his eyes searching hers to see if she was okay. Blinking away, Caitlin looked down at her coffee as she spoke.

"Yeah… I was just thinking how we didn't get to finish our dinner last night." Caitlin lied changing the subject.

She knew it was wrong, but she couldn't bring herself to tell Barry what was really bothering her. Facing Zoom, she knew that it wasn't going to be easy. She didn't want to tell him how much she feared about him getting hurt or worse. She couldn't bear the thought of him hurt. He'd come close so many times, it always broke her every time she saw him unconscious and barely breathing.

"Cait I—" Barry began as he took her hand into his.

Caitlin looked up to meet his eyes. They were warm and inviting, yet she noticed there was something behind them. Something that he wanted to say. Just as he began, Cisco's voice bellowed interrupting their conversation.

"Yo beat that… " Cisco piped up as he dropped a piece of paper onto the table.

"Wow!" Barry laughed.

Caitlin leaned over, her eyes peering down to see a number written on it.

"That's how it's done you pada one." Cisco smirked as he snatched the note back up and placing it carefully into his pocket.

"Nice." Caitlin smiled proudly at her friend.

"We're going on a date next week." He boasted.

"Things are looking up for Cisco Ramon." Barry commented nodding approvingly at him.

"I guess so but I'm still stuck with these powers though. I just don't know feel about them."

"Hey look, you don't got to go through it alone." Barry supported, patting Cisco on the back with his free hand.

"And now you need a cool name." Caitlin chimed in.

"Oh snap. You're totally right. I got to think about this one. Well you know me it has to be totally perfect."

Caitlin laughed at how Cisco instantaneously lit up. She was glad that he was on his way to accepting his abilities. She was proud of him.

"Ahmm." Barry nodded.

"Something that really sings you know... something like…" Cisco thought.

"Vibe?" Barry suggested.

"Vibe!" Caitlin repeated.

" _Vibe_ " Cisco tested, nodding with an approving smile.


	6. Zoom

**_So guys this is one of my favourite chapters I've written so far. Based around S2 Ep.6. Hope you guys enjoy. Love hearing from all of you. Anyways I'll let you get to reading._**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own the Flash nor it's characters._**

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

"Zoom wants Dr Light to send him your new emblem?" Caitlin sounded out skeptical.

Crossing her arms across her chest she still couldn't believe that they were still going through with this plan. _It's too damgerous._ She thought as the rest of the team discussed the plan in front of her.

"Yes… we need it for bait. If we could get Dr Light to take my emblem… throw it through the breach, then Zoom will come to collect my body and we can… trap him." Barry continued to explain.

"You know it took a lot of work to make that emblem right?" Cisco implied, looking at Barry seriously.

"This was the woman who was willing to kill Linda in order to escape Zoom but now she's willing to help us catch him?" Caitlin pointed out, hoping that they'd see reason to this madness.

"She knows it's the only way." Barry shrugged confident in his plan.

"Before I left Earth Two I worked on a serum to dampen Zoom's speed. All we would need is for Ramon to develop a weapon to deliver it." Harry added.

"Oh! Great that could be this year's cold gun! Maybe another criminal could get it and then we would have Sergeant Slow!" Caitlin shouted throwing her hands up in exasperation.

"I would never let that happen. Sergeant Slow is a terrible name." Cisco shuddered.

"Are we forgetting how much more powerful than Barry… Zoom seems to be. I mean if Barry can catch bullets what's to say Zoom can't catch whatever you shoot at him?" Caitlin reiterated.

"Surprise! The element of surprise… all we would do is rig up a projectile to fire and Zoom crosses into the breach he can't stop what he can't see coming." Harry explained confidently.

Caitlin couldn't help but roll her eyes. _This was absolutely madness!_

"That's great." Barry nodded in agreement.

"Thanks." Said Harry.

"Joe. Voice of reason here." Caitlin said looking to Joe for some help.

"We need a plan. That's good as any. As long as he can deliver." Joe shrugged, distracted by his phone.

"Don't underestimate me detective." Harry muttered in response.

Caitlin blew out a deep breath of frustration as she watched Joe turn away to answer a call. She couldn't believe that no one could see the flaws in this plan. It was too dangerous and too soon. They couldn't even tell if they could fully trust Dr Light anyways.

"Woah we're needed back at the station. I'll meet you there k?" Joe said speaking to Barry.

Caitlin watched as Barry nod in understanding. Still mad, Caitlin stood still as Barry approached kissing her on the forehead. He looked down at her with soft eyes, his searching hers for reason and support. When she continued to look straight ahead, Barry kissed on last time before leaving for CCPD.

As everyone cleared the room, Caitlin looked over to Joe, who was nudging them to step aside and talk. Uncrossing her arms, Caitlin met with Joe and Cisco to the side, speaking before he managed to get a word in.

"Are you just forgetting everything Jay told us since… supporting Wells now?" She voiced in a high whisper.

"Oh no. I don't trust Wells at all! I just want to see what he was up to. I figured if we give him some rope he'll hang himself." Joe explained.

This somehow seemed to relax Caitlin a bit.

"Yeah I'm totally with you. I think he's hiding something." Cisco whispered under his breath, a hint of fear that Wells could over hear him.

"Look my experience in interrogating suspects after all these years… somethings not right with this dude. Barry told me about this thing you can do..." Joe said looking pointedly towards Cisco.

"Vibing." Caitlin said with some excitement.

"Relax." Cisco said flatly.

Caitlin rolled her eyes.

"Can you do it with Wells?" Joe suggested with raised eyebrows.

"I can try."

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

"Dr Light managed to hack into the lights of her cell. The whole building runs on fibre optics that operate on pulses of light so she turned off the dampeners and used her powers" Cisco explained as he examined the video footage down at the pipeline.

"I told you how dangerous she was. You should have sedated her!" Harry said agitated.

"I thought I had convinced her that helping us was the only way she'd free herself from Zoom." Barry sighed, resting his hands on his hips as he bowed his head.

"Well you thought wrong." Harry spat.

"Yep."

"Okay. Dr Light is gone. So instead of assigning blame let's try and figure out what we are going to do next."

"Do you think she's going to try and get Linda again?"

"I had Iris bring Linda to the house just in case just to keep an eye on her. How are we doing on the speed dampener?" Barry explained, turning to Caitlin for an update.

"I think we isolated the composite." She stated.

"And we're modifying the dart the arrow used to take down Wells." Cisco added.

"He's not Wells. I'm Wells." Harry said annoyed.

"Whatever Harry." Cisco shrugged as he rolled his eyes.

"We don't even really know if this thing works."

"No until we try it this would be a field test so can we end this scintillating staff meeting and get back to work." Harry seethed, starting to turn his back on them.

"Or how about I say what everybody's thinking… maybe it's a good thing Dr Light is gone. Maybe it's the universe stopping us from doing something really stupid." Joe suggested stepping forward to speak.

"No! No. Keep going. I'm going to figure out another way to get Zoom." Barry insisted, turning to Caitlin and Cisco.

As both Caitlin and Cisco nodded in agreement, Barry watched for a moment as they resumed work. Satisfied at how they were going, Barry was struck with an idea and pushed his way forward to leave.

"Hey slow your roller I want to talk to you." Joe called after him down the hallway.

Barry came to halt, spinning around to see a familiar and judgemental expression on his face.

"Look Joe I know what I'm doing." Barry huffed out continuing to walk.

"Okay I don't so why don't you fill me in." Joe pressed.

Barry took out a heavy sigh. Turning around, he made his way over to Joe.

"I'm trying to stop Zoom. I thought you were on board with that?" Barry confronted Joe.

"I'm keeping my options open." Joe stated bluntly.

"I don't understand why you think we have a choice. Zoom wants me dead. The metahumans that he's sending from Earth Two they don't care how many innocent people get in the way. Look what happened to Iris and Linda's boss. He was just collateral damage in Zoom's war. The next time that could be you! Or Caitlin." Barry said his voice rising uncontrollably.

He couldn't understand why everyone kept questioning his motives, kept second guessing his decisions. With everything Zoom had done and was willing to do, he thought everyone would be on board with doing everything they could to stop him.

"I'm just wondering if going after him now is premature. I mean we hardly know anything about his abilities."

"Wells does." Said Barry curtly.

"You're putting a whole lot faith in a man who's wearing the face of your mother's killer. I think we should find Jay. Get him to help us on this." Joe encouraged.

"Jay made it pretty clear that he doesn't want to help get me killed. And we can't just sit around and wait for Zoom to make his next move anymore. We can't. Aren't you the one that told me life isn't about playing defence? Sometimes the only way to succeed is by working the offence." Barry finished, walking away.

"Yeah but at the time we were talking about your high school football try outs." Joe called out after Barry.

Barry stopped dead in his tracks, spinning around to face Joe.

"You said that you'd never bring that up again!" Barry said hurt and angry as he stormed out on Joe.

* * *

* _S.T.A.R Labs*_

Barry flashed into his suit. Since Dr Light had escaped, the needed another way to lure Zoom back to Earth One, and this was the only other way he knew the plan they had devised could work.

"Miss Park. I need your help." Barry said just as Linda stepped off the elevator.

"Woah." She breathed out staring straight at Barry.

* * *

* _Basement Level of S.T.A.R Labs*_

"This is ridiculous." Linda exclaimed.

"No its not. You look just like Dr Light." Barry encouraged.

"And with these gloves that Cisco rigged up you'll be able to do what she does." Caitlin added.

"Don't worry they are totally safe." Cisco bellowed from a safe distance away.

"Ish?" Iris raised his eyebrows at Cisco in concern.

"Ish." Harry repeated unfazed.

"Oh come on it's got to be believable so they really do fire and explode things. And you are going have to let her hit you with those blasts when she gets a hang of it." Cisco shrugged turning away before anyone can judge further.

"Who actually came up with this terrible idea?" Joe muttered.

"Okay it's not a terrible idea. The suit can absorb the blasts." Cisco defended pointing towards Barry/

"For real or ish?" Caitlin teased.

Barry stifled a laugh.

"What does a terrible idea look like to you Cisco?" Joe laughed.

"Hey you know what… I'd like to think I can see the bright side of things okay? Positivity people!" Cisco voiced loudly.

Barry ushered Linda around, walking beside Caitlin, both of them followed Linda into the centre of the basement. As they slowed to a halt, Barry moved to stand beside Linda.

"Alright… alright… just hit the ones of me." He said pointing forward.

"Okay got it." She replied nervously.

Barry nodded curtly, before moving backwards beside Caitlin. Barry's hands fell to his hips as he watch Linda take a deep breath. Beside him Caitlin, brought the tablet before her and began calibrating the practice drill. As she hit enter, Barry watched Linda carefully, as she shifted her way through makeshift maze. As the cut out of Barry sprang forth, Linda extended her arms, shooting out shot powerful bursts of light.

"Woah! Woah! Woah!" she shouted as she uncontrollably fired aimlessly at everything.

Barry raced forward immediately, catching Linda before she fell.

"You know what I'm just going to adjust those- screw driver. Coming! Coming!" Cisco shouted apologetically.

As soon as Cisco finished tinkering with the gloves, he stepped aside and nodded approvingly as appraised his work.

"Um okay so just do the opposite of that and we got it." Barry said shakily.

Linda nodded nervously; turning away she prepared herself for round two. Caitlin was back on her tablet. This time following Linda around as she manually configured the paper cut outs to pop out. After a long two hours of practicing and re-adjusting her gloves, Linda had finally got a slight handle on it.

"Woah omg I did it! Did you see that?" Linda jumped excitedly as she raised her hand for a high five.

Suddenly a burst of bright light shot straight towards Caitlin. Barry's eyes widening in shock, sped across towards her, protectively catching her and pulling her away. Barry stumbled backwards onto the ground, Caitlin pulled down with him, her body on top of him.

Barry smiled as Caitlin pulled away slightly so her face was inches from his. As much as he was tempted to reach up and kiss her, Caitlin pulled herself away and off him. Barry huffed out silently, reluctant to let her out of his arms. But with Linda still there and unaware of his true identity, they had to hide those small moments.

As Caitlin dusted herself off, she extended a hand out towards him. Barry slid his hand into hers as she helped pull him back to his feet.

"Sorry." Linda apologized as she closed her hands.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

As they sent off Linda with Iris back to the West's house, the rest of the team headed back into the cortex, Caitlin twisted her head to the side, trying to loosen up the knots growing in her shoulders.

"No offence to Linda but there is _nooo_ way she could pull this off." Caitlin huffed out as she laid her tablet down on the desk with a thud.

"Maybe if she didn't scream every time she fired." Harry added, taking off his glasses to rub his eyes.

"Yep Linda had a rocky start but she can pull this off. I know she can. Did you find somewhere near a breach where we don't have to worry about civilians getting in the way?" He said facing Cisco.

Caitlin followed Barry with her eyes, as he rushed his hands threw his hair.

"Yeah there's a place by the docks that's usually deserted at night." Cisco reported back.

"Awesome. How we doing with the speed dampener?" he asked turning towards Caitlin.

Caitlin pursed her lips together before speaking.

"My tests indicate that it should work."

"It will work. I'll tune up Ramon's gloves so they work better." Harry said confidently.

As Cisco left with Harry to finalize the gloves, Caitlin rounded around the desk towards Barry. Her eyes followed him as he began pacing up and down the room.

"Hey so we're actually doing this?" she whispered pulling him to a stop in front of her.

Barry's eyes guided over hers for a second. In a heartbeat of a second, they remained in silence before Barry looked away.

"Yeah we're doing this I'm going to get Iris to get Linda ready." He whispered, turning back and kissing her goodbye.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

As Barry hastily shouldered his way into his jacket, he pressed on the elevator button ringing it to him. Just as the elevator doors opened, Barry stepped in, a second later; Joe came hustling down the corridor, pleading him to wait.

"Barry hold up!" Joe called after him.

Barry spun around, his hand instinctively extended out holding the elevator door open.

"Hey what?" Barry let out an exasperated sigh.

"You saw what happened in there. Linda's not ready." He voiced.

Barry bowed his head in frustration.

"She is. She's ready enough." He huffed out tired of repeating it over and over again.

"Why are you pushing this?" Joe pressed.

"Why… Why do you think? I want to get him!" Barry said with a raised voice.

"To get who exactly?"

"Is that a real question?" Barry retorted shaking his head in disbelief.

"You tell me. I'm not sure it's not even about Zoom. It's starting to feel like you're still chasing the Reverse Flash."

"Reverse flash is dead." Barry said flatly tired of where this conversation was leading.

"Yeah but after all he did to you… you weren't the one who stopped him." Joe reminded him.

"We all worked together." Barry stated, his voice a little softer as flashes of what happened that day came flooding to his mind.

"And Eddie got him in the end. Doesn't that make you feel cheated that you didn't get your revenge? That you stopping Zoom is the next best thing?" Joe probed further.

Barry shifted on his feet as he tried to subdue his growing agitation.

"All I'm saying is… if you are going to ask people like Linda to risk their lives you need to be exactly sure why their doing it." Joe said before exiting Barry alone in the elevator.

* * *

* _Abandoned docks*_

Barry looked around the deserted docks, frustrated and disappointed. _It didn't work!_ He shouted at himself. He didn't show. The sudden clashing of metal behind, forced Barry to turn around.

"So Wells ain't taking this well." Joe scoffed as he stared after a disgruntled Wells.

Barry jumped, unexpectedly unaware that Joe had approached behind him.

"Ahm" Barry nodded looking down at his feet.

"How about you?" Joe observed Barry cautiously.

"Yeah…it just sucks you know?" Barry whispered. His eyes glued to the floor as he played with some loose gravel.

Barry took a moment's pause before continuing.

"You were right a little bit about this not just about beating Zoom or it being about the Reverse Flash."

"Okay." Joe said waiting for him to finish.

Barry stepped forward to look Joe right in the eye.

"But it's not for the reasons you think… it's not because I didn't beat him." Barry started.

"Wells." Barry implied.

"He said something to me on that video before he confessed to my mom's murder. He said that even if he was dead that he still won because I wasn't happy and that I'd never really be happy." Barry finished his mind repeating the words over again in his mind as the thoughts of all the pain, all the almost's that have happened. His mother's death, being torn away from his father, losing Caitlin, the _almost_ proposal… the list could go on.

"How the hell would he know?" Joe stated.

"He knew me. He knows future me." Barry replied.

"That's future you. This is you now."

"I still think Wells was right. Ever since I went back to that night and I didn't save her… save my mom, there's been this void in me you know? I feel like that's always going to be there. For better or worse. Wells knew me." Barry breathed out as he dipped his head down so Joe couldn't see his face in the dimmed light of the dock.

"Better than I know you?" Joe said edging forward, his hand resting on his shoulder.

"He may have stalked you for 15 years but I raised you. Look, Wells said what he said to you to mess with you to get into your head one last time. If you listen to him you let him win." Joe said.

"I don't want that." Barry whispered, pulling his head back up.

"You're responsible for your own happiness Barry… forget about Wells… think really hard about what you want and what makes you happy. And go out and get it. It's as simple as that okay?"

Barry nodded and smiled weakly at his adoptive father.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

* _S.T.A.R Labs*_

With the rest of the team back and Barry still out there, Caitlin bit down on her bottom lip, she looked out towards the city her eyes peeling for the streak of lightening that meant Barry was back.

Caitlin let out a sigh of relief when she saw a yellow streak flash towards S.T.A.R Labs.

Caitlin turned around, wrapping her arms around her to protect her from the chill air that blew across the roof top as she waited for Barry to find her.

As the door pushed open and Barry step out into the orange glow of the sunset, Caitlin smiled up at him.

"Hey you okay?" Caitlin asked nervously as Barry returned a slight haunted look on his face.

Caitlin waited for an answer, but Barry just raced towards her, hurling his arms tightly around her burying his head in her shoulder.

"Sorry I was late I just had to stop by and get something." He apologized pulling away.

"It's okay. I just came out here to get some fresh air." She smiled releasing her bottom lip from the iron grip of her teeth.

As Caitlin came to fully look at him properly, she realized that he seemed nervous… a little on edge. She couldn't blame him, hell they were all on edge waiting for Zoom to make the next move. And not knowing what and when that'll be had them all feeling nervous and paranoid.

"Hey you sure you oka-?" she began to repeat.

Caitlin was surprised when Barry, crashed his lips to hers, silencing her. It took her almost a second to realize what has happening, and without any thought she kissed him back. From every other kiss they had, Caitlin felt this one was different. There was an extraordinary need and hunger. It wasn't a kiss that made you tear your clothes off no. This kiss was one off passion and promise. As their mouths slowed and parted, Caitlin opened her mouth a large smile playing on her lips.

"What did I do to deserve that?" she whispered, their faces only inches apart.

"I've just been thinking about what makes me happy and _you_ Cait… you make me happy."

"You make me happy too."

Caitlin notices as there was a sudden shift in Barry's expression. At first glance he looked sad, which she understood after everything that just happened but as she focused and looked deeper into his eyes, she that he was nervous. It seemed as though he was calculating something in his head, but he just smiled up at her and took a deep breath.

"Babe are you sure you're okay? You seem nervous."

Barry laughed loudly. "You would be too if you were me."

Caitlin's face scrunched up, as she stared at him confused.

"Barry just tell m—"

"Okay, okay…" he interrupted raising his hands as he took a step back.

Caitlin wrapped her arms around herself once again, shielding herself from the cold and because Barry had her feeling a bit nervous about where this conversation was leading.

Barry stood a few steps away from her when he spoke.

"Cait, I love you.."

"I love you too."

"Can you let me finish?" he laughed holding up his hand.

Caitlin smiled apologetically but nodded and bit down on her bottom lip.

"When you looked at me for the first time… the first time I laid my eyes on you… this feeling hit me. I wasn't sure what it was but it felt like I'd been struck by lightning… _again._ Suddenly I was awake… without realizing it I fell in love... with you… and I just didn't know it yet. But I knew in that instant my life had changed for the better. Because of you I'm a better man, and not because of my speed but because there is no other soul on this planet, let alone another that has ever made me half the man I am as you have made me. You bring out the best version of me… I can face my fears because I have you by my side. After everything we've been through the past couple of years… I don't want to wait for the next perfect moment because of what we do… there never really is one to do this…. And believe me I've tried…"

Caitlin's heart started quickening. She knew definitely knew now where this conversation was growing. She couldn't take her eyes off Barry as he began to approach her slowly. His eyes never let go of hers as he closed the distance between them. Caitlin let out her the breath she had been unknowingly been holding in as she saw Barry's hand reach into his pocket.

Suddenly in that long few seconds where everything around her slowed down, Barry stood in front of her, his eyes soft and warm.

"And standing here with you now, I don't want another couple of years to go by thinking why I didn't do this one day sooner…" He whispered.

Caitlin watched and waited as Barry knelt down on his knee. Reluctantly looking away from him, her eyes drifted down to his extended hand, slowly he opened his palm that showed a gorgeously cut diamond ring.

"Dr Caitlin Snow. Will you marry me?"

Caitlin looked back up at him. It was as if the world around them fell away, as she was truly happy.

In that moment she knew she could have looked into his eyes forever, and in that moment she knew just as she had before, that's all she ever wanted. A forever with him.

"Yes." She whispered, tears pooling in her eyes.

Caitlin realized she must have said it so quietly that it took Barry a minute to hear her answer. He looked at her surprised as though he couldn't be sure he heard her correctly.

"What?" he stammered, a big grin pulling at his lips.

"YES!" she repeated loudly as she pulled him and smashed her lips to his.

Barry held her to him more tightly; as he leaned down to kiss her back. Pulling away, Barry grabbed her hand, his finger grazing of her finger before slipping over the ring onto her finger. At this point, Caitlin was now crying. Her hand transfixed on her finger.

"It was my mom's." Barry whispered.

Caitlin's head snapped up, looking up at him surprised.

Barry noticed and met her gaze.

"She would have wanted you to have it. And I want it to yours and no one else's." Barry said with finality before reaching down and kissing her hard.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

* _An hour later*_

After coming back down from the roof an hour later, Barry smoothed down his hair as they approached the cortex, beside him Caitlin was smiling uncontrollably, and her happiness was contagious. Looking down at Caitlin, he'd never thought he could be this happy, could feel this kind of love, yet every time he looked at her he was proven wrong.

As the neared the cortex, Barry slipped his hand into hers, tightening them as he took breath and they turned the corner to face everyone.

"There you go… like you think these things just grow on trees or something!" Cisco tsked from across the room as he snapped on the new emblem.

Barry peeked down and caught Caitlin's eye. Both of them burst into silent laughter as they separated and pretended nothing happened. Wondering who would be the first to notice.

"And we threw away the last one for nothing." Barry teased as he approached Cisco, the large smile still on his face.

"You have been going through this footage dozens of times. Everything went exactly according to plan." Caitlin's voice cut through. Barry spun around to see her looking over Harry's shoulders.

He was sitting by the side desk, frustrated, he kept hitting the keys with excessive force as he rewound the footage and played it over and over again.

"If it had… Zoom would have shown up." Harry said through gritted teeth.

"Maybe Light was wrong. Maybe he can't see though the breaches. Or maybe he finally decided to give up." Barry shrugged, feeling as though nothing could bring down his good mood.

Suddenly Joe's voice came from around the corner. Barry had been wondering where he was. He wanted him to be the first one to know the good news. But before Barry could yell it from the rooftops, he noticed, Joe's serious face and decided to hold back for a moment.

"Hey Iris slow down I can't understand you…." There was a moment's pause before he yelled "ZOOM HAS LINDA!"

"He's on the roof." Cisco said looking at the cameras on screen.

With a quick glance in Caitlin's direction, Barry flashed outside, to where he was just moments ago. Standing up there, Barry stood facing Zoom as he held Linda over the edge.

"You like to fish with bait?" Zoom seethed.

"I do too." He laughed, releasing Linda to her death.

Barry didn't hesitate as he sped down the building and after Linda. As soon as his feet hit solid ground, Barry looked up to see Linda screaming as she fell. Barry propelled his arms in circular motions, creating an air vacuum that slowed Linda down enough for Barry to catch her.

Barry dropped her to her feet, and began pushing in the direction to safety.

"You need to get out of here okay." He shouted as stopped screaming.

"You can't fight that thing it's a monster!" Linda screamed trying to pull Barry away with her.

"Just go okay!" Barry shouted forcefully as he let go nodding at her that it was okay for her to leave.

Barry watched after Linda as she ran away without looking back. Once she vanished from sight, Barry spun around to face Zoom.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

* _Inside S.T.A.R Labs*_

"Zoom cannot be human." Caitlin cried as she and Cisco watched on the sidelines from the computer monitors.

"He is or was." Harry muttered under his breath.

"Barry cannot defeat that."

"Why is Barry running away?" Caitlin said, internally thankful.

"He's not. He's going to thunderbolt him." Cisco replied a smile creeping across his face.

Caitlin had to do a double take before she realized the reality of what was about to happen. He was going to do it. He was going to fight Zoom. Caitlin's heart rate began to spike as she watched nervously.

"Jay taught him how to throw lightening." She muttered out loud as she recalled Jay teaching Barry.

"Did you guys see that?" Caitlin bellowed, her eyes transfixed on watching Barry's vitals now.

"See him catch a bolt of lightning with his demonic claws yeah saw that!" Cisco yelled back.

"Jay's right he can't defeat him alone." Caitlin cried.

"He's not alone."

Caitlin snapped her head up to see Harry arm himself with the gun they had weaponised with the speed dampener. As Harry rushed out to help Barry, Caitlin's fingers slid over the communications button pressing down.

"Run Barry!" she pleaded, her voice strained.

"No I'm going to see if Wells' dampening serum works." Barry called back over.

Caitlin closed her eyes. Barry was so stubborn in frustrated her so much. Knowing there was nothing she could say to change his mind, she was left numb as she the only thing she could do was watch for what happened next, and the feeling made her sick.

"How is Barry going to match Zoom's speed?" Caitlin turned to Cisco as they watched the speed battle unfold before them.

"Genius… he's not going to match it he's going to take it out the equation all together." Cisco smiled amazed.

"What are you talking about?" Caitlin said her brows scrunching together in confusion.

"Terminal velocity. The highest velocity obtainable by a falling object." Cisco began explaining.

"Falling through the air?"

"Yeah free fall fight! Air drag force equals the downward force of gravity making it in the net force zero making…"

"Equal velocity! That is genius." Caitlin finished, relaxing slightly to the fact that there could be an actually chance this could work.

And in that second, it felt as the world around her came to a crashing halt.

"BARRY?!" She screamed over the coms.

"He's killing him!" She cried… turning to Cisco, her eyes pleading with him to do something… anything to help save him. But she knew there was nothing either of them could do without getting killed. Caitlin turned back to the computers. Her voice breaking as she screamed out for Barry again.

"Barry!"

And in that heartbeat of a moment, they were both gone. Caitlin was left standing, staring at the deserted parking lot outside S.T.A.R Labs. _He was gone._

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

Barry felt the burning pain as he tried to breathe. Stuck in the demonic clutches, Zoom sped Barry around Central City. As they came to a halt, Barry's eyes focused in on the familiar interior of Central City Picture News. With all his power, Barry tried moving his body but he remained paralysed and powerless. Barry closed his eyes, only to open them, to a mob of reporters gasping in fear as they huddled around each other for the slightest bit of protection and comfort.

"Look at your hero. This man is no god... he is nothing." Zoom's voice crackled.

In the darkness, Barry could hear the quiet sobs. There was no movement in the room. No one dared to make a sound. Barry could feel all eyes on him as Zoom, thrashed around Barry's limb body as if he were nothing more than an old rag doll. As Barry scanned over the eyes of the individuals in the room, he's eyes settled on his best friend, silently crying as she held her hand over her mouth. He kept his eyes on her, hoping that she'd find comfort in them, knowing whatever happens… everything was going to be alright. At least he hoped.

As Zoom settled a fear to the rest of the city, he clutched a hand around Barry's neck once more and speed him to CCPD.

"The days of the Flash protecting this city are over." Zoom's voice bellowed across the room.

Through the gaps the second floor railings, Barry could just see a crowd of detectives, stern faced, all weapons ready and aimed towards Zoom.

Barry wanted to yell. To scream… to warn them, but amongst all the pain and blood filling his lungs, he couldn't get the words to escape his mouth.

"Hold your fire." Captain Singh ordered.

"Put him down." Joe yelled.

"Now what will you do without your precious hero?" Zoom laughed.

"Shoot that thing now!" Singh initiated.

Suddenly a hail of bullets came speeding towards them, but as if it were nothing, Zoom had capture every single shot fired. In a single movement, he opened his hand and before Barry's eyes it was raining bullets.

Barry feared for the department. His second family. He was broken and powerless to stop this monster from harming any one of them… and he knew he was the one to blame if anything happened.

"Nice try." Zoom remarked before flashing away.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

 _*Back at S.T.A.R Labs*_

Caitlin was panicking. She had started pacing the room as she kept repeatedly asking Cisco if they found out where Barry was.

"Anything?" she said her voice strained and heavy.

"No." Cisco shook his head solemnly.

"DO YOU HAVE HIM?!" She cried out.

Suddenly a gust of forceful wind and blue buzzes of lightening, rushed past them.

"Barry?" Caitlin cried as she saw his limp body, in the iron grip of Zoom's demonic hands. Caitlin tried to run to him, but Cisco held her back. She fought against his hold but couldn't get free.

"Harrison Wells you think you could defeat me with him?" Zoom's voice crackled through the room.

"I made a mistake." Harry responded.

"Yes a costly one." Zoom laughed as he moved his eyes slowly across the room. His eyes somehow fixated themselves on Caitlin.

Caitlin saw a faint glint of familiarity, but was diminished but the blackness of his eyes. As she looked away towards Barry, she was suddenly thankful she had Cisco holding her because without him there was no way she'd be able to stand.

"Goodbye Flash. You too weren't fast enough." His voice crackled with a smirk as his pierced his finger though Barry's body.

Caitlin screamed out Barry's name, collapsing to the floor as she watched Barry's limp body fall with her.

It was as if time had slowed. No one was moving. The sudden scream from Zoom, brought everything in view back to full speed.

"Arrggghhh!" He yelped as he yielded down to one knee removing a dart from his neck.

Caitlin looked up at him, if only for a moment before he forced himself up and was gone.

"No, no, NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Harry cried as Caitlin scrambled off the floor racing over to Barry's side.

"Barry… Stay with me! Babe, stay with me… Barry…" she cried as she placed pressure over his wound.

"CISCO… GRAB EVERYTHING FROM THE MED BAY!" She ordered.

She glance over to her shoulder long enough to see Cisco frozen as he stared down at Barry.

Closing her eyes for a second as she drew a sharp breath, she opened them, looked Cisco straight in the eye before speaking.

"Cisco I need everything in the medical bay… NOW!" she shouted.

Cisco flinched, his eyes snapping to hers. And in a sudden understanding of what she had just said, he fled from her side and began getting anything and everything his hands could carry back to her.

Caitlin looked back down at Barry.

"Please stay with me." She cried.

As the agonizing seconds dragged on, Caitlin felt the warmth of Barry's blood curl around her ring, dampening her fingers.

 _Stay with me!_ She begged.

 _You promised._

* * *

* _Moments Later*_

Caitlin ran straight to the bathroom. Crashing the door open, Caitlin hastily turned on the tap, letting the water cover he stained hands as she briskly tried to scrub off the blood. As the blood dripped off her hands Caitlin froze still. The memories of Barry lying there, slipping away from her began flooding her mind like a dark plague. Looking up from her hands to the mirror, Caitlin couldn't even recognise her reflection. She was trembling. Her face hollow with mascara smeared down her face as the tears continued to streak down her cheeks. With her breathing picking up, she found it more and more difficult to catch her breath.

With a knock at the door, Caitlin wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and tried to compose herself. She needed to be strong for Barry. Finally, opening the door, her good friend Cisco stood there, his eyes red rimmed and his face just as haunted as hers must have appeared.

"You okay?" he whispered although he knew the answer.

Tears once again filled her eyes. Unable to find her voice, she merely shook her head. Cisco didn't wait for permission before taking her into his arms. Caitlin felt her body collapse in his arms as he held her tighter.

"He's going to be okay. This is Barry we're talking about. Your Barry. He'll be okay."

Caitlin nodded into his shoulder, holding onto the hope that he was going to be okay.

* * *

* _Hours Later*_

Caitlin held onto his hand, hoping that he'd squeeze her hand telling her he was okay. She needed him to be okay. Standing by his side, Caitlin couldn't tear her eyes away from him. She couldn't risk to see his chest stop rising and falling as he breathed. She found comfort in the sound of the monitor beeping letting her know that his heart was still beating. In that moment… that sound was the only thing keeping her together.

"This is all you! If Barry dies you die!" Caitlin turned around, her hand slipping out of his at the sudden thud.

Caitlin stepped forward as Joe held Harry pinned against the doorframe.

"Joe! Barry's vitals have stabilized. Let's let him go." She pressed, not needing the extra chaos to distract her from monitoring Barry.

"No Caitlin." He protested bluntly.

"Why? What good does that do for Barry?" She yelled back, her voice strained and tired.

"It's going to help me!" He replied, his eyes narrowing murderously at Harry.

"Yo stop. Who's Jesse?" Cisco interrupted, pulling Joe away.

Caitlin was thankful Cisco intervened. She felt her shoulders relax slightly as Cisco created a small distance between the two men.

"How do yo—Jesse's my daughter and Zoom has her. You did vibe me?" Harry stammered, stepping forward towards Cisco.

 _Harry has a daughter?_ The thought drifted across her mind.

"Yes."

"What did you see?" Harry asked urgently.

"I saw your daughter. She's with Zoom."

"But she's alive?"

"Yeah."

"Zoom sent you here like the others? You kill the Flash and you get your daughter back?" Joe pointed edging closer but thankfully Cisco wedged himself between them.

"The only way I get my daughter back is if I capture Zoom. Do you understand? You love Barry… I love my daughter. None of these children are safe not as long as Zoom is here. I tried… on my earth to capture him… I failed. I thought I could bring him down here with Barry's help… I was wrong." Harry whispered as he bowed his head, defeated. Caitlin watched as the room went silent, and Harry dragged himself away.

Caitlin looked towards Joe and Cisco, but both were lost for words. Turning around, Caitlin made her way back to Barry's side, where she promised she'd stay until he opened his eyes again. She needed him to open his eyes.

* * *

* _Hours Later*_

Caitlin felt her eyes grow heavy. She sat at the desk beside Barry's bed watching his vitals. Rubbing her hand over her eyes, Caitlin leaned down across her arms, feeling the weight of her eyelids begin to close.

As she blinked her eyes closed and she settled in the darkness, falling to sleep with the steady beats of the monitor, Caitlin allowed herself to drift off into unconsciousness until Cisco's voice brought her back almost immediately.

"Hey Caitlin… Look, I think he's waking up." He whispered, as he poked her gently awake.

Caitlin jolted upright immediately, feeling the rush to her head, she took a second to steady herself before she turned around to Barry's side.

"Barry… Barry?" Caitlin's called, hoping the desperation in her voice wasn't evident as she moved to be by his side.

Caitlin waited patiently as Barry struggled to open his eyes. Caitlin stared down at him, her eyes tired and red rimmed from staying awake all night. As Caitlin reached the bed, she eased her hand into Barry's, gently grazing her thumb over his knuckles. Catlin breathed a heavy sigh of relief as she felt Barry's fingers tighten around hers.

"Can you hear me?" she whispered her voice still tense.

"Caitlin." He whispered her name.

Caitlin closed her eyes tight, happy that he was still alive. Hearing his voice, Caitlin felt a heavy weight lift off her shoulders. _He was okay._

Caitlin felt Cisco beaming broadly as he too felt as she did.

"You scared the crap out of us." He sighed relaxing back.

"You were gone for a long time." He added.

"How bad is it?" he asked his voice gravelly from being so dry.

Caitlin's expression softened, her hand tightening around his, her eyes welling up recalling the memory of him being so broken… beaten… her heart clenched at the thought of how close she'd been to losing him.

"Bad… of you didn't heal so quickly I'd be worried." She lied her voice dropping to a whisper.

"Linda how is she?"

"She's fine. She's staying out with some friends in Coast City." Cisco explained.

"Zoom?"

Caitlin opened her mouth but was lost for words. She looked over to Cisco who thankfully caught her eye and jumped in to respond.

"Let's worry about Zoom when you're up and about." He ushered placing a firm hand on Barry's leg.

Caitlin to face Barry with a reassuring smile. She saw as Barry's face grew dark and his eyes widened trying to get up. Caitlin panicked, slipping her hand out of his and onto his chest heaving him back down to rest.

"Oh no. You're staying put." She instructed firmly.

Caitlin grew frustrated as Barry struggled against her restraint. _Why do you have to be so stubborn?_ She muttered to herself rolling her eyes.

"Yeah seriously you got your ass kicked" Cisco unhelpfully reminded him.

Caitlin snapped her head towards Cisco glaring at him.

"No guys… I can' feel my legs." He whispered staring at his legs.

Caitlin looked back to Barry, her face strained with concern.

"Caitlin, I can't feel my legs… Cait—I can't—"

Caitlin could see the Barry's chest rise and fall rapidly as he the fear behind his eyes began to settle in.

"Cait way can't I feel my legs." He choked his breathing laboured.

"Barry look at me!" she pleaded, grabbing his face in her hands as she pulled his eyes away to look at her.

"Cait…" he whispered broken, his face trying to strain out of her hands.

Caitlin edged closer to him, her hands gripping tight.

"Babe look at me… just look at me." She whispered.

But Barry wasn't listening, he was in a terrible state of panic, that everything just became white noise. Seeing him this way broke Caitlin's heart. In that moment Caitlin forced herself onto the small space beside him on the bed, pulling his face to hers as she leaned in pressing her forehead to his. Her eyes closed, she opened them. Barry's eyes were unfocused, tears forming in his eyes as he looked up at her.

"Babe… babe." She called for him to focus in on her voice.

"Cait…" he cried.

Lost for words Caitlin, pulled Barry to her chest, holding him while he unravelled.

"It's going to be okay Barry. I'm not going anywhere. I'm here." She promised as she felt Barry tightened his arms more tightly than he ever did before.

 _I've got you._ She whispered.

* * *

 _ **WHAT DID YOU GUYS THINK? HONEST OPINIONS WELCOME :)**_


	7. Nightmares

_**Hey guys sorry for the very delayed update, but had no time to write... been on vacay and now I'm back at work... excuses aside I have finally finished chp 7. This one is based on the 7th ep of season 2. Hope you guys enjoy.**_

 _ **P.S thanks for all the reviews... they have really helped me in thinking about the story and the potential of where I could lead it. I have read every single one and have taken every single one into consideration.**_

 _ **Hope you enjoy and peace out :)**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own the Flash nor its characters.**_

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

It was still dark outside… the day barely breaking into the second hour past midnight when she woke up, her hair sticking to her forehead as the sweat rolled down her temples. Caitlin's breathing was ragged and shallow, she felt the sharp pain as she was unable to catch her breath when her chest rose and fell in rapid motions. Trembling, Caitlin couldn't seem to break out of the darkness that plagued her mind. It was if she was living in a horror film, with the images of Barry falling unconsciously to his knees in slow motion. Every detail was amplified. As much as she wanted to scream there was just no sound. Caitlin felt her chest tighten as she struggled to find air. Tossing away the sheets, Caitlin threw her legs over the side of the bed, closing her eyes trying to relax herself. As Barry murmured and stirred in his sleep, Caitlin peeked over her shoulder, curling herself back under the sheets and into his arms, reassuring herself of the present and dragging her mind out of her nightmare.

Caitlin wasn't sure what time she fell asleep or when she even woke back up. Time seemed to be blurring around her as she lay beside him, her arms placed firmly across him. With the fear that she was in a dreaming, Caitlin rested her head on his chest, letting her body absorb the rise and fall of it. She needed to believe that this was real. She felt the faint pressure of his fingers on her back and his warm breath in her hair. She tried not to think of any of it. _He was going to be okay. This was real. He was okay._ She told herself. Squeezing him tight, she tried to reassure herself.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

* _A week later*_

As Barry placed one foot in front of the other, he felt every ache of pain creep down his back towards his legs with every stride he forced himself to make.

"Alright I got you." Joe cooed as he carefully walked beside Barry.

"I can't do it right now." Barry huffed out as he collapsed back down into his wheelchair.

"Yes you can bar-" Joe encouraged.

"No. no. no." Barry protested shaking his head aggressively cutting him off.

"We were making so much progress." Joe sighed.

"Yep six whole steps someone give me a bozo button." Barry spat out sarcastically not looking anyone in the eye.

Barry noticed Joe pierce his lips shut, joining in the short silence.

As much as he loved his family, he hated how they could remain so positive, like a step forward was _so_ amazing. A week has gone by and he only just started to walk. He still hadn't gotten back his speed. Zoom was out there and he was powerless to stop him. Zoom made sure of that. And worst of all… the entire city knew that too.

Barry's mind kept drifting back to his fight with Zoom. Barry could recall how powerless and crippled Zoom had made him. Even after a week, he couldn't look into the eyes of the people he loved knowing that every time he did, he could see the truth that they knew he couldn't do anything to protect them. And it killed him. How could he be protect the ones he loved… how could he deserve to be the city's hero, when Zoom had showed them just how weak he really was. He wasn't the fastest man alive… And sitting in the wheel chair Barry felt as though he wasn't much of anything anymore.

Blinking, Barry was pulled out of his thoughts when Caitlin's voice cut clear through the darkness.

"Hey give yourself some credit you just broke your back." She smiled warily.

Barry returned her smile, he need to reassure her that he was okay… even if he didn't feel it. He knew she still woke up every night paralysed by the same nightmare. But he knew she would never admit it and say she was fine.

"Yeah a normal person would have been paralysed the rest of his life." Iris agreed nodding her head.

"How long until I'm fully healed?" He whispered, looking back up at Caitlin.

Barry watched, as Caitlin took a beat before responding.

"Your initial MRI I took a week ago showed a complete dislocation of the T12 to L1 of the inner space of the penumbra junction. But this is the MRI I took this morning. It's remarkable but you're almost completely healed."

"I'm still having trouble breathing." He told her.

"That is totally normal with a spinal injury. It should clear up soon." She said, rounding the desk towards him.

As she closed the distance between them, Barry never took his eyes off her. He smiled broadly as she took his hand, giving them a gentle squeeze.

"We're going to get you back up in that suit Bar-. Real quick. Trust me Barry." Joe promised.

Barry wasn't really listening, his head turned towards his suit, Barry's mind drifted back to the thoughts that were still replaying in a constant loop in his mind. The only thing, keeping him grounded was the gentle grazes of Caitlin's fingers playing over his.

"What are we going to do about Zoom?" Barry muttered changing the subject.

"No sight of him since Cisco hit him with that tranq dart." Joe said.

"And I haven't vibed since then." Cisco added.

"Maybe Zoom's not coming back?" Iris shrugged.

Barry grew slightly irritated at her optimism, because he knew Zoom was still out there and there and he was going to come back.

"I highly doubt that. That's why I'm going to do something about that." Harry voiced, as he joined them, slinging a backpack across his shoulder.

"What do you mean go do something about it?" Caitlin asked concerned.

"I need access to your breach room and your speed canon." He stated flatly without further explanation.

"Why is that?" Barry probed bluntly.

"Because Barry it's time to go home." He said.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

"So you show up on our Earth, screw everything up and now you want to go home? Sounds very familiar." Joe shook his head smugly.

Caitlin couldn't believe what she was hearing. _How could he just leave when they needed him the most?_ Frustrated Caitlin breathed out an exasperated sigh.

"Again. That wasn't me. I need to go take care of Zoom once and for all. Before anyone else gets killed." Harry retorted.

"How do you plan on doing that?" Barry questioned his voice sounding unconcerned.

 _And how was his not bothering Barry?_

"I'll think of something. Ramon will you escort me to the speed canon?" Harry said as he turned to leave.

Caitlin couldn't hold back. Dropping Barry's hand, she made her way after Harry.

"No. No. You can't go through the breach." She said in protest.

"Yeah he can. Jay taught us how to send people." Cisco said in support of Harry's send off.

"That's not what I mean. Look if you could find a way to stop Zoom on _your_ Earth you can figure it out here. We need you to stay here until we defeat Zoom Dr Wells." She argued strongly.

"What I need Dr Snow is to return home. I'm going to do that with or without your assistance." Harry replied with finality.

Caitlin stood silently seething as she watched Harry turn his back on them.

"What are you doing? If Harry wants to go… bye." Cisco voiced.

"Look, like it or not Cisco we need his help." Caitlin explained hoping that the rest of them could see reason.

"I'm not sure another plan from Wells is what we need." Joe added.

"Yeah the last bright idea he had nearly got Barry killed." Iris agreed.

"You don't think I know that!?" She said with a raised voice startling everyone by her sudden outburst.

Closing her eyes to bring her emotions back in check, she took a deep breath before continuing.

"I know. But Jay's gone and Dr Wells knows Zoom better than anyone. So until Barry is back on his feet again… we need to keep Wells around in case Zoom returns."

"Cait… if he doesn't want to be here, we're better off without him. Let him go."

"I can't do that. Not yet."

Turning her back Caitlin stormed out of the room.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

Barry watched as Caitlin walked out on them. After a moments pause, he knew he should follow her and make sure she was feeling okay.

"Hey Cait—" Barry called down the hallway as he wheeled after her.

Barry caught up to her after she stopped turning around to face him.

"I'm sorry. But I can't let him go." She said calmly taking a deep breath, her eyes drifting down towards his feet.

"If he do—" Barry began to say.

"I don't care Barry! You don't get it do you?!" Barry's eyes widened at Caitlin in confusion. He wasn't sure if he'd seen Caitlin so mad. And she was raging now. Standing in front of him, her hands rose and fell to her side as she raised her voice.

"Get what? Cait?" He asked, calling after her.

But she didn't say anything she just shook her head and left.

 _Get what?_

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

* _Later that night*_

As the night drew darker, Caitlin finally came across a low key bar where she discovered Harry sitting perched on a stool at the bar, hidden under the disguised shadow of his cap.

"You should stay away from the cheese curts. They're addicting." Caitlin laughed softly as she approached him.

"I'm going to take a wild stab that you're here without the consent of the rest of your fabulous team?" Harry replied sarcastically as he continued to doodle in his journal.

"It's been difficult having you here. For all of us." She began to explain, seating herself next to him.

"You don't have to worry about that anymore because I'm leaving." He said flatly.

"We can help you save your daughter. I know that's why you want to go home. I understand. And that's why I want you to stay. So we can save your daughter and you can help me keep the man I love from getting killed." She whispered her confession.

"Look… I made a big mistake coming here. My plan was to get the Flash's help. My plan was to use his help to stop Zoom and my plan failed. I don't have another plan. Except to go back home and face Zoom myself." He explained.

"So let's say you go back to your earth… and you fight Zoom. He will kill you! And now how does that help your daughter?" Caitlin pushed leaning forward as the desperation became apparent in her voice.

"Look the best way to save Jesse. To help me save Barry. Is to stay here and work with us as a team." She whispered easing up a bit.

"No. Nope please leave me alone while I discover which one of these breaches is going to get me home." He replied as if he weren't listening.

Caitlin closed her eyes defeated. He was their last hope. Her only hope left, to help her keep Barry alive.

"You know you're lucky Cisco and Professor Stein never figure out how to close all the breaches. Then you'd be stuck here." Her voice leaked with poison as she pushed herself out of her chair and began to leave.

"Wait. We close the breaches. All of them... leaving Zoom with only one way of getting to this Earth." Harry's voice piped up.

Caitlin spun around at Harry's words.

"The breach at S.T.A.R Labs." Caitlin added, her eyes widening up with renewed hope.

"Exactly. And then we set a trap." He smiled.

Caitlin returned the smile, feeling the muscles in her shoulder relax knowing that Harry was back. He was going to help them.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

Barry felt as the sweat rolled down the side of his face. Breathing hard, Barry pushed to place one foot in front of another, forcing himself to ignore the dull sharp pain probing his back.

"Faster Barry… there you go." Joe encouraged from the other room.

Hearing Joe's voice echoing through the room, Barry propelled his body forward feeling the electricity course through his body as he tried to gain more speed.

"Push yourself!" Joe yelled happily.

Just as Barry started to pick up momentum, flashes of Zoom looming over him, his demonic face smirking, laughing as he held Barry around his throat and stabbing him. Suddenly Barry's vision was engulfed by sudden darkness and he fell off the treadmill with a thud.

"BARRY! You okay?" Coming to, Barry heard Iris and Joe's voice as he pulled himself up off the floor.

"Yeah I'm not great right now. Nothing… nothing I'm good just forget about it alright."

"Barry… talk to us we can help you." Iris pleaded with him concerned.

"No you can't help me… not this time. I'm sorry. You just wouldn't understand." Barry breathed out as he held an arm over his ribs.

Without another word, Iris left.

As the door closed behind Iris, Barry stumbled to sit himself down on the treadmill, drawing his head into his hands.

"What's up Bar?" Joe asked in stern seriousness.

Barry pulled his head out of his hands to look up at his adoptive father. Taking a deep breath he spoke.

"Zoom destroyed me. He showed everyone in Central City… to Caitlin that I'm powerless to stop him. They gave me the key to the city Joe! I'm supposed to be their hero… her hero… I'm supposed to be the guy that can protect them from something as evil as that and I failed… In front of all of them." Barry cried.

Barry looked away from his father ashamed.

"When they think of the Flash all they think about now is someone not strong enough to protect them." Barry whispered under his breath.

Barry pulled himself off the treadmill, standing up straight he saw the anguish in his father's eyes as he became lost for words. As Joe reached out to place a reaffirming hand on his shoulder, Barry waved him off.

"Nah I'm good." He lied as he staggered out of the room, his head hanging low.

* * *

* _A couple of hours later*_

Sitting in his wheelchair Barry continued to stare at his suit, wondering when he'd ever get to wear it again, whether he even would and whether he deserved to wear it. These thoughts plagued his mind on a constant loop and he felt as if he couldn't breathe.

"Did Caitlin come through here?"

Barry turned around to see Cisco stampede into the room, his expression hard and confused.

"No." Barry shrugged, his brows creasing together in concern.

"She just hit me in the face and ran away!" Cisco complained loudly, soothing a hand to his cheek.

"YO GRODD!" Joe yelled as he came running back into the cortex.

"What?" Barry's eyes widened, his body edging forward in his chair.

"Grodd's back." Joe choked as he rested his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath.

"That must be why Caitlin was acting like that! She's been mind-controlled." Cisco added with the new found realization.

Barry was not pushing his wheelchair closer to the group as Cisco began scanning the buildings security cameras for any sign of Caitlin.

If Barry thought he couldn't breathe before, he sure as hell couldn't do it now. With his heart beating vigorously in his chest, Barry watched as they found Caitlin walking out of the building. At the sight of her unharmed, Barry felt his muscles relax slightly until a shadow emerged in the corner of the frame and then there was Grodd. Barry froze.

 _Cait…_

In the next second, Barry tore himself out of his chair after her.

Racing as fast as he was able after her, Barry pushed the door open, his eyes blinking at the sudden blast of sunlight in his face. His fear for Caitlin numbed the pain shooting up his back. Frustrated, Barry threw the walking stick in front of him.

"Arrggghh!" He screamed.

Barry then collapsed to his knees at the sudden loss of support.

Barry's breathing was low and heavy as the anger at himself began to brew inside him.

When the hands of his father and Cisco where by his side, Barry allowed them to help him up.

"Come on. Let's get back inside and find her." Joe said patting him on his back.

Barry couldn't speak, he just nodded.

When they got back into the cortex, Barry was suddenly in a daze. It was as if he couldn't see straight. He couldn't even think a single thought. His mind was just on Caitlin. He couldn't believe she was gone, if he had his speed and wasn't confined to this chair and cane… he could help thinking that it was his fault. Out of everyone, he was supposed to be the one person she could count on. The one person she could count to protect her. And now he didn't even know how he was going to get her back.

While everyone around him where talking, Barry remained silent unable to speak. He just continued to look down towards he feet.

 _"I'm continuously amazed by the similarities of our worlds." Harry muttered._

 _"You got talking gorillas on Earth Two?" Joe said raising his eyebrows._

 _"Oh yeah"_

 _"Remind me never to go there." Joe laughed._

 _"Ramon, why would this Grodd abduct Dr Snow?" Harry asked Cisco, as he watched over his shoulders at the monitor._

 _"I don't know… it doesn't make any sense. She was always so nice to him." Cisco replied, as he scoured video footage of the sewers._

 _"He mind-controlled two lab technicians to steal chemicals that enhance intelligence. He wants her for something." Harry pointed out._

 _"Well it looks like he left his bachelor pad in the sewers." Cisco grunted._

 _"Grodd is a big ass gorilla. He can't just waltz through downtown in the middle of the day without anybody noticing."_

 _"Right and if there has been sightings we might be able to proximate his location." Harry agreed._

 _"I can call CCPD they can access the tip hotline send over files of Grodd's recent attacks." Joe suggested._

 _"Good."_

 _"We got to get her back." Cisco said._

 _"We will." Harry stated firmly._

Suddenly, Joe's voice cut through his silence.

"Barry… Barry!" Joe called out to him.

"Yeah."

"You can't blame yourself for this. There is nothing you could have done."

"Why can't I. I was supposed to be the one person to protect her. I still don't have my speed how am I supposed to get her back? How am I supposed to save her from Grodd?" Barry argued shaking his head.

"You may not have your legs yet but you still got that big old brain of yours. Use it. I got to go." Joe said firmly, leaving Barry alone.

Looking at the city map, Cisco left up on the monitor, Barry stared long and hard at it.

 _Where are you?_

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

Caitlin's mind was heavy as she began to wake up. As her hand slide across the floor, she felt the course material under her fingers. Opening her eyes, her sight adjusts quickly to the darkness of a room she wasn't familiar with. Pulling herself up off the floor, Caitlin looked around the room, her eyes falling on familiar writing. In that instant, her heart began beating fast…

"Grodd?" she called out into the shadows.

"Caitlin." He growled.

"Grodd? You remember me?" she stammered, a little scared.

Suddenly there was rustle high above her, and then Grodd made himself present, swing down and dropping down in front of her with a loud thud.

Caitlin staggered back, as Grodd stood towering over her.

"Caitlin. Always. Kind." He voice.

Swallowing hard, Caitlin gathered her courage and began moving forward as she spoke.

"Why did you bring me here?"

"Need help." He explained, as they began circling the room.

"I don't understand." She replied, her brows creasing together in confusion.

"How did I become Grodd?"

"That's a long story Grodd. Umm…The dark matter from the accelerator explosion. That's how this happened." She began to explain calmly.

"Repeat?"

At her remark, Grodd growled loudly, making Caitlin curl back.

"REPEAT. GRODD!" He barked as he pointed towards a small tower of chemicals.

"NEED TO REPEAT. GRODD!"

"You want me to make more like you. I don't know how to do that." Caitlin replied shakily.

"LEARN!"

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

Knowing that the only way he could get Caitlin back… is if he got his speed back. Standing on the treadmill, Barry took a deep breath, switching on the machine and began to run. As Barry pushed himself further, he could feel himself faster. Pushing past the pain he kept going, increasing his speed, until the air in his lungs ran out. Struggling to catch his breath, Barry reached out switching the machine off. Pacing himself to a stop, Barry leaned down, resting his hands on his knees as he drew in sharp breaths.

"Keep that chin down slugger."

Barry turned his head abruptly towards the voice.

"Dad?" Barry whispered surprised.

* * *

* _Med Bay*_

"I'd give you some physical therapy but you don't need it." His dad laughed as he took a step back to look at his son.

"I'm really glad you're here dad." Barry smiled as he shrugged a shoulder back into his jacket.

"Me too. You know I've tried to call but you can't get a cell up in Granite Peak National Park… so…"

"Granite Peak? What you went camping by yourself?" Barry snorted out a laugh interrupting his father.

"Yeah… yeah… I got a tent... went fishing every day. I have had my fill of largemouth bass for a while." He boasted rubbing his belly.

Barry smiled warmly back at his father. He did miss his father. God did he miss him.

His father must have noticed his silence.

"Sometimes you just have to slow down. To get back to where you want to be." His faced whispered.

"Dad..." Barry began to say, his face dropping to the ground.

"Hey guys… it looks like we found them." Cisco yelled out from the other room.

"Yeah?" Barry whispered under his breath.

His eyes widening at Cisco's voice, Barry tore out of the med bay fast, to stand himself right beside Cisco as he pulled up the location on the computer monitor.

"Grodd has to be in one of these three bell towers. The only reason why we couldn't find them on any cameras underneath the city before is because he upgrade from a bachelor pad to a penthouse like a baller." He explained as he pointed on three different pinpoints highlighted on the screen.

"Okay we know where she is… we still don't know how to get her." Barry grumbled.

"We got a plan for you." Cisco stated ambiguously.

"What's the plan?" Barry pressed.

"We use me."

Barry turned around. His heart beating fast and fear rising through his stomach to his chest, Barry's face pulled together as he shot straight towards the Reverse Flash, pinning him aggressively hard against the opposite wall by the throat with a thunderous thud.

"Woah that's Harry! That's the other Wells!" Cisco shouted.

It's like all the voices around him where drowned out by his hatred as he started intently at the mirror image of the man who had killed his mother and had destroyed his family.

"Barry…" Harry breathed.

"Let him go. Let him go." Cisco instructed trying to calm him down.

Barry blinked, his eyes darting towards Cisco and back to Harry. Letting go slowly, Barry backed away guilty.

"Sorry… I'm sorry." He apologized, closing his eyes briefly in order to get his emotions back in check.

"I thought he was dead." His father said bluntly his eyes never leaving the sight of Harry.

"He's dead. This is Harrison Wells from Earth two." Barry began explaining as he tried to catch his breathe.

"Earth Two?" His father asked disoriented by the idea.

"I'll explain later." Barry replied.

"If we can get him to convince Grodd he's Wells… that he's his father… maybe we can convince him to let Caitlin go." Cisco stated, still wedging himself between Barry and Harry.

Barry took a moment to really think about it. Without his speed back there was no other way he was going to get Caitlin back. As much as he hated this plan, he knew it was the only way to get her back safely into his arms. Stepping forward Barry looked straight into Harry's eyes.

"I'm not going to be able to help if anything goes wrong. So you better get her back or Zoom won't be the only speedster you need to worry about." Barry threatened.

"It's a risk I'm willing to take." Harry nodded.

* * *

* _Moments Later*_

"So this is what is like every time you go after one of these metahumans?"

"Ahh pretty much… only Cisco and Caitlin are the ones in here and I'm out there." Barry muttered distracted as he started intensely at the screen in front of him, his heart beat loud and fast as he waited anxiously for their plan to go ahead. _This better work._ He told himself.

"And there's no reason you shouldn't be." His father encouraged.

Barry turned around looking at his father.

"Iris showed me what happened. With Zoom. That was hard to watch. I can only imagine what that must have been like for you…" His father began to explain.

"He showed everyone in Central City that their hero wasn't good enough to stop him." Barry huffed out, his eyes drifting back to the floor ashamed.

"Well it certainly wouldn't look like… was he right?"

"Hmpf."

"Your bodies healed Barry and yet here you are… Feeling the shame of losing."

"I can't stop him. I know it. He knows it. And now everyone in this city knows it too. They don't believe in me anymore dad." Barry shrugged his head falling.

"At my trial for your mother's death a lot of our family and friends were in the court room. They heard awful things about what I had done to your mother… but it didn't matter that it wasn't true. Every day I could see it on their faces until that moment where I lost them… until everybody had stopped believing in me. Well that was my reality. You know I was going to serve a life's sentence for a crime I did not commit. But worse than that every time I looked at someone from that moment forward they had to believe I had killed the woman I loved. _In. Front. Of. Our son_. So yeah I do know what it's like to feel destroyed."

"How did you get pass that?" Barry whispered desperately.

"I embraced it. Accepting it was the only way I could move forward but I knew that if I could survive that and learn to believe in myself again I know I could survive anything. Do you know what lit that belief in me Barry?"

Barry shook his head, a tear falling down his cheek. Barry immediately brushed it away with the back of his hand.

" _You_. 11 year old you running around believing in me gave me that hope."

"And now I'm giving it back to you son. No more monsters can take that from us."

Pushing himself out of his chair, Barry reached out to his father and pulled him into a tight embrace.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

Every time Caitlin placed a foot in front of another the floorboards would creak. Caitlin began pacing up and down as she began explaining

"So one of the main differences from ape and human brains is the white matter connectivity in the brain cells. The chemicals that you were treated with as an infant were meant to overcome those differences and cause an explosive growth of both. Similar to what infants experience in their first few years of life. Maybe these chemicals can be used to duplicate that growth and then maybe we won't need a particle accelerator explosion." She laughed shakily as she looked at Grodd.

Suddenly a creak echoing from the other side of the room made Caitlin jolt. As her head snapped in the direction of the sound, Caitlin's heart stopped as she held her breath. _Wells?_

"Hey buddy. Easy buddy it's me. I'm back." Wells muttered, pushing his way into the room.

"Father you died." Grodd's voice echoed through the hallow tower.

"No no buddy I didn't die I just went a way for a while." Wells excused.

As Wells turned to face her, she caught Wells' eyes and she couldn't be sure but she was certain he winked at her. It took her a moment to register what that meant.

 _Harry?_

Caitlin finally managed to catch her breath as her muscles relaxed. Caitlin's eyes moved away from away from Wells and drifted slowly up, cautiously watching Grodd as Harry shifted closer towards her, seamlessly wedging himself between Godd and herself.

"But now that I'm back… we don't need Caitlin anymore do we now buddy… so you can let her go. Come on buddy let me get her out of here… please." Harry whispered.

"Father never ask. FATHER TAKE!" Grodd shouted angrily.

Caitlin turned towards Harry. "RUN."

As Caitlin tried to make it for the door, her mind began to plague with thoughts and memories from Grodd. Paralysing her, Caitlin couldn't move.

"Who are you?!" Grodd shouted as he knocked Harry across the room.

Suddenly, the pain and memories stopped, as her mind was suddenly silent.

"Cisco thank god!" She breathed out as she caught Cisco by the arm.

"Harry's trapped Harry's trapped we can't leave him. What do we do?"

"You are not father!"

"I am father. And you hit father! Grodd! Look at me. LOOK AT ME! I would never leave you here alone. Grodd I made you a promise. I have bigger plans for you remember? One day this city will be yours I promised you. I intend to honour that promise."

"GO!" Harry shouted brushing past them and running out to safety.

Cisco was soon behind him, only stopping at grab Caitlin by the arm and pulling her with him.

"Come on." He pressed.

Caitlin pulled back a little, her eyes locked on Grodd. A part of her couldn't help but feel sorry for him. With Cisco nagging her to come along, Caitlin had no choice but to follow.

* * *

* _Back at S.T.A.R Labs*_

With Harry perched on the stretcher, Caitlin finished up bandaging his side.

"Thank you." He grumbled.

"Thank you for rescuing me!" She smiled as she tore off the gloves from her hands, tossing them to the bin aside.

"We're a team right?" He responded rhetorically.

Caitlin nodded, pushing herself up off the chair; Caitlin shuffled into Barry's arms. For a moment she leaned into his chest, closing her eyes she let the warmth of his body warm hers. Feeling his lips in her hair, Caitlin took a deep breath before shifting around in his arms so she was facing everyone else.

"Well I'm impressed. I think we all are." Barry smiled thanking Harry.

"Yo, well we need to do something about Grodd." Joe suggested.

"Like what?" Caitlin asked her voice piping up an octave.

"Like get rid of him for good." Joe mumbled in response.

"You want to kill him?" Caitlin gapped shocked.

"Considering the people he's killed… yeah." Joe shrugged defending himself slightly by the look on her face.

"This isn't Grodd's fault. He's only like this because Wells made him this way."

"Yes but Cait he kidnapped you and you could have died!" Barry stated facing her.

Caitlin turned to face him. Her face softening as she caught sight of his concerned expression.

"You didn't see what I saw. Grodd's getting smarter. He's lonely and sad. He wants more apes like him." She explained further, turning back to the others.

"What are you saying? He wants kids? Because I'm pretty sure one telepathic grape ape is more than enough for this city." Joe said sarcastically.

Caitlin was about to open her mouth and say something when Harry interrupted.

"I know somewhere we can send him."

"What are you talking about?" Barry asked his brows creasing together curious.

"When the singularity exploded, I discovered the breach in S.T.A.R Labs… I ran similar tests and the same thing. 51 additional breaches, the difference being the breaches in Central City are scattered all though out the city whereas the counterpart on my world … most definitely are not." Harry began to describe as he led everyone back into the cortex, where he stood behind the desk to bring up a city map highlighted with the breaches scattered around the city.

"And you know where they lead?" Cisco asked.

"Well I was in the process of figuring all that out when Dr Snow oh so gallantly convinced me to stay. But if I am correct this breach is going to get Grodd as close to home as he's ever going to get." Harry pointed to a specific point on the map.

"Okay even if you're right how exactly are we going to bait Grodd?" Joe questioned skeptical.

"My son will do it. Won't you Flash?" Henry volunteered stepping forward and smiling at his son.

Caitlin turned to Barry, he was smiling back at his father, but deep in his eyes she could see his doubt. Squeezing his hand, she tightened her fingers a fraction around his, giving him courage.

"You can do this. I believe in you." She whispered to him.

* * *

* _A couple of hours later*_

Against Barry's wishes, Caitlin stood just outside the abandoned belltower, gazing up to the broken clock.

"GRODD?" she shouted out into the night.

"Caitlin." A low grumble erupted from the tower before a loud shattering noise erupted, raining down a storm of glass.

Before the glass fell onto her she was swept up in the secure arms of the man she loved. As Barry dropped her off with the others, he quickly kissed her on the forehead before heading back to lure Grodd to where they were. Caitlin moved over to the side and out of view, watching anxiously for their plan to take effect.

Shortly after, Barry flashed before them, Grodd towering over him. Caitlin held her breath as she watched Barry go a few rounds with Grodd. Suddenly Caitlin leaned forward as Barry fell to the ground, Grodd pinning him down.

 _BARRY!_

"Where is Caitlin? Where is Caitlin Flash?!" Grodd repeated angrily.

Unable to control herself, Caitlin stepped out of the safety of the shadows, exposing herself into the dim lighting in the middle of the deserted road.

"Right here!" She shouted firmly.

"NO NO NO!" She heard Barry grumble under his breath as he tried to squirm free.

Caitlin took one look at Barry, and she knew that this time she wasn't going to stand by and watch the man she love die before her. Maybe last time she couldn't have done anything, but she wasn't going to let that happen again. Standing firmly she looked Grodd straight in the eye.

"You need to let him go Grodd!" she demanded.

"Flash is my enemy and now you too!" he grunted.

"No he was trying to save me from you. We didn't understand what you wanted but now we do. I can give you what you want. I can give a home. You just have to trust me." She pleaded with him, her eyes continuously darting back and forth between Barry and Grodd.

Catching Barry's eye, he tried waving her away, but Caitlin just shook her head. She stood her ground as Grodd left Barry and began stalking his way towards her. Caitlin swallowed hard, breathing out a heavy sigh as she did, knowing that Barry was out of danger.

Just a Grodd strode his way into the centre circle of their little contraption, Harry from the sidelines shouted "NOW BARRY!"

Caitlin turned to face Barry. She could see his hesitation.

"Babe… hey you can do this! I believe in you."

And without any more doubt Barry sped forward, hurdling himself towards Grodd, pushing him into the open breach.

When it was all over and the breach was finally closed Caitlin let out a deep breath. Overwhelmed with so many emotions, Caitlin hadn't realized that her heart was racing and that tears were streaming down her face.

When Barry turned around, pulling down his mask, Caitlin came hurdling into his arms. Throwing her arms around him, Caitlin crashed her into his, burying her head into his neck. Crying, Barry tightened his hold around her, bringing her closer to him.

"I love you." She whispered.

Barry pulled back kissing her hard on the lips.

"Welcome back Flash!" Cisco cheered from the sidelines.

Barry pulled back, wiping away her tears Caitlin smiled softly before burying herself back into the crook of his neck.

* * *

 ** _Btw I won't be covering the cross over episode (so ep.8) as there is just too much other plot stuff going on in those episodes to really draw out a nice and genuine Snowbarry story. So the next chapter update will skip to being based around ep.9._**


	8. Holiday Surprises

**_So here's the next chp. Based around ep. 9 of season 2. Writing it... feel like its a lot shorter than what I usually write, or maybe I feel that way coz it took less time to write. Not sure but anyways.. It's not so episode heavy but I hope you guys enjoy nontheless._**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own the Flash nor its characters._**

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

 _*Barry's Apartment*_

Lying next to her, Barry began tracing little circles on her bare shoulder. Afterwards he leaned down planting a dozen tiny kisses from her shoulder to her neck until he found her lips.

"You know we won't be able to get out of bed if you keep doing that." She giggled between short chaste kisses.

Barry laughed, a small grumble leaving his throat feeling a smile stretch across her face as he pressed his lips to her neck.

"It's not entirely my fault." He teased pulling away.

"Babe you do realize that you did initiate that?" she smirked.

"Are you complaining?" he flirted, his eyes smouldering as he devoured every detail of her naked body.

Caitlin didn't say anything. She just reached out for his hand, threading her fingers through his and leaned in to kiss him square on the lips before pushing him back down and chambering on top of him.

"No." she grinned.

As Caitlin rested her head on his chest, her eyes angled out towards the window. Barry soothed his hands over her arms his head turning to watch the same setting sun cross behind the buildings far away.

Mesmerized by the fading colours of daylight, Barry didn't realize that all that while Caitlin had been staring quietly at him. Feeling her warm breath on his skin, Barry turned to face her, a lazy smile spreading across his face.

Barry felt his heart soar, as he took in the beauty of the woman he loved. A picture of perfection as the orange and yellow shades of light, highlighted the soft and delicate features of her face. Ever so slowly, Caitlin slid her body up towards him, her body hovering over him as she kissed him hard. Barry slid his arms slowly across her back before pulling her down into him. Their kiss deepening with a hungry passion. With the heat rising between them, Barry used his speed to flip her over so that she was beneath him.

A low hum escaped from Caitlin's mouth, exciting him. Just as things began heating up, the doorbell chimed. Neither of them stopped, hoping that if they ignored the sound… it would just go away. For few seconds it worked until it chimed again. In that moment, Caitlin burst into laughter. Barry pulled away his forehead leaning against her shoulder. _Seriously?_ He yelled silently. Barry felt the rumbles of her laughter radiating from her chest. Barry pushed himself up so he could look at her.

Her laughter was infectious, Barry couldn't help but laugh.

"You should probably get that." She patted him on the chest as she bit down on her lip to stop her from laughing.

Barry nodded as Caitlin pushed him to her side, gathering up the sheets she wrapped around her as she slid out of bed.

Barry huffed out into the mattress as he watched Caitlin scramble away from him and into the bathroom. As the doorbell rang out once again, Barry scurried around the room, throwing on his discarded clothes from the previous night back on before answering the door.

Just as he finished buttoning up his shirt, Barry caught a glimpse of Caitlin as she dropped the bed sheet from her body, exposing her soft skin. Barry swallowed hard as he saw her step into a deep blue skin tight dress.

With the doorbell incessantly buzzing, Barry's attention was pulled back. As he reached out to open the door, Iris came barrelling almost knocking him to the ground. Barry's expression turned into a deep concern as he saw his best friend begin pacing up and down the walkway.

"Oh hey Iris." Caitlin welcomed as she leaned against the couch slipping into her high heels.

Barry noticed as Iris immediately stopped. A little surprised to see Caitlin there. There was a brief moment where Iris' eyes darted back and forth between the two of them, piecing things slowly together.

"Oh I'm sorry." She apologized, her voice low and soft.

Suddenly Barry was growing more concerned. She didn't seem like herself.

"No, it's okay." Caitlin smiled standing back up straight with two feet firmly back on the ground.

"I'll leave you two to it. I should get to S.T.A.R Labs."

"I'll see you at Christmas." She said waving good bye as Caitlin grabbed her coat off the counter.

"Yeah okay bye." She smiled, waving back kindly.

Barry caught Caitlin's eye, smiling apologetically, his hand brushing against hers as she made her way out. As Caitlin shut the door behind them, Barry turned his full attention to Iris who was watching him wide eyed.

"I'm so happy for you. Truly." She said genuinely as she dropped her things on the couch behind her.

"Thank you I… It means a lot to me. I don't know… its Wells left me that message where he said that I'd never really be happy and for a while I was really starting to believe him and now… I'm the happiest because she said y-" Barry began to say when he caught a glimpse of Iris from the corner of his eye. She seemed to be in her own little world. Her mind far off thinking.

"Are you okay what's wrong?" He asked reaching out to her concerned.

"I'm so sorry, I can't keep this in anymore Barry." She said as she turned away pacing up and down the room.

"What?" Barry asked, moving himself in front of her so she'd stop and tell him what was bothering her.

"I know that I was so mad at you and dad for not telling me that you were the Flash, but when I found out about this… I didn't know what to do." She blurted out fast.

"Wh—What's going on?" he repeated, his voice more heavy with concern.

"When Francine came back, my dad told me not to trust her and he was right. I didn't know how much… when my mother left us she was pregnant. She had a son. Joe's son… my brother." She confessed with a heavy sigh.

It seemed as though telling lifted a massive weight off her shoulders and she could finally breath again.

Barry didn't really know what to say but "What's his name?"

"Wally… Wally West." She stammered.

"When I found out I told her to leave and never come back and never tell my dad but Barry I feel… I feel like this is hallowing me out every time I look at dad. I feel like I'm hurting him. I don't… I don't know what to do." She began to cry.

"I think you know what to do." Barry whispered as Iris fell into his arms.

"I can't… It's going to kill him." She sobbed harder at the guilt eating away at her conscience.

"No it won't. You don't have to do this alone we can do this together." He cooed as he tightened his arms around her.

"Thank you."

Pulling away, Barry adjusted himself so they were both looking out his floor to ceiling window view.

"Hey look snow… Maybe it'd be a white Christmas." He said squeezing her shoulder.

"That would be nice." Iris whispered wiping away her tears.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

* _S.T.A.R Labs*_

After quickly changing into the spare clothes at the lab, Caitlin straightened herself out before joining Cisco and Jay in the cortex.

"Hey Caitlin, take a look at this." Jay greeted as he popped back into the other room.

Caitlin waved across the room towards Cisco before following Jay into the other room. She found him staring intently at the screen monitor in front of him. Reaching his side, Caitlin focused on the screen, assessing what he had been working on.

"I was just thinking that if we could inject an unstable neutrino burst into the individual breaches it might cause them to seal on their own." Jay began explaining.

"And stop Zoom from travelling back and forth between our worlds." Caitlin concluded excitedly at the prospect of hindering Zoom from travelling back to their Earth.

"Least then wouldn't have to worry about him sending anymore metahumans over for Barry to fight." Jay smiled as he watched her bounce up and down a little excited.

Catching him staring at her, Caitlin cleared her throat turning to him a serious look on her face.

"It means a lot." She smiled warmly at him.

"What does?" Jay muttered.

"You looking after Barry. He's been through a lot these past few weeks. It means a lot to him. It means a lot to me. So thank you." She said turning away.

"Barry's not the only person I want to keep safe." She overheard Jay whispered softly.

Caitlin wasn't sure if she was meant to hear that but Jay knew she was involved with Barry, but in case she felt like she was obligated to set things straight. She considered Jay a dear friend but nothing more. She just needed to make sure he knew that too.

"Look… Jay..." She began taking a step closer to him.

"Hey guys there you are. Oh did I interrupt something?" Cisco said throwing his hands up apologetically.

Caitlin rolled her eyes. Her best friend could have the worst timing.

"No. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah I keep checking but all is quiet on the metahuman front. Hey do you think Zoom decided to take Christmas off?" Cisco shrugged optimistically.

"What's Christmas?" Jay asked looking between her and Cisco.

Caitlin was suddenly lost for words. It kind of stunned her that Jay didn't know what Christmas was. Looking to Cisco who was no longer standing in the door way, Caitlin huffed out unsure of how to explain so began rambling the best description she knew.

"Oh well it's this holiday we have here where we cut down trees and sing songs to celebrate the birth of a baby 2000 years ago and the romans killed him so we give each other gifts." She breathed out after she finished walking them back into the cortex.

"That's your explanation?" Cisco laughed from the opposite side of the room.

Caitlin caught his eye, returning him with a glare.

"I know what Christmas is." Jay teased, seeing her uneasiness.

Caitlin took a deep breath. _Right. Of course he knew what Christmas was._ Laughing off her embarrassment, Caitlin turned back to Jay.

"Oh. Right of course. Um you know Joe and Barry, Iris and I are having people over for Christmas Eve so I know you technically don't have you family here, and they said we could invite whoever we want."

"And... and who do you want?" Jay stammered as he looked at Caitlin with wide searching eyes.

"Well no one should be alone for Christmas so I want to invite you… and I'm pretty sure Barry's inviting Joes new partner Patty… who knows maybe you to might even hit it off." She replied feeling a bit uneasy with Jay looking at her so intently.

There was beat of silence and no reply. Caitlin felt a bit awkward as she saw the disappointment shadow across Jay's face.

"Yeah come Jay…" Cisco encouraged breaking the tension.

Glad for the assistance, Caitlin let out a deep breath as Jay nodded silently before walking away creating a bit of distance between them.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

* _S.T.A.R Labs*_

"Oh ho ho yeah. Weather Wizard… Captain Cold _and_ the Trickster!" Cisco voiced placing his hands on his hips as he tore himself away from the monitor to face the rest of the team worried.

"There's three of them and one of you. I do not like those odds." Caitlin said shakily.

"And I am going to be no help without my speed so…" Jay shrugged in agreement.

"Oh Oh light bulb… up here I have an idea. Most weather phenomenon's are marked, no pun intended by a change in electric charge in pressure in the atmosphere. We could just map out those fluctuations to…" Cisco began excited.

"Pinpoint his location." Barry finished, realizing that he had heard this all before.

"Right it would just be a matter of rem—" Cisco continued a little surprised by Barry's quick response.

"-Removing all of the electricity from his immediate surroundings. Attracting it to one spot." Barry said alongside Cisco.

"The same way a lightning rod does. Instead a lightning rod we could use a-"

"-A wand." Barry finished with a smile.

"Have we already had this conversation?" Cisco muttered looking at Barry with a very confused expression on his face.

"Kind of." Barry shrugged trying to avert everyone's curious eyes, but to no success.

"What does that mean?" Harry interrogated.

Throwing his arms up, Barry began to explain.

"Ahh, alright so the last time Martin attacked he um generated a tidal wave that destroyed all of Central City."

"So why aren't you all sleeping with the fishes?" Harry eyed everyone in the room.

"Earth two has the godfather?" Cisco asked.

"Every earth has the Godfather." Harry replied flatly.

"So I ran back through time one day into the past and I got a do over and I stopped Martin before he could hurt anyone."

"You shouldn't have messed with the timeline." Harry breathed out heavily.

"That's what the other Wells said. So the good news is, that in that timeline you created the wand and it worked. So you just got to do it again. For the first time." Barry said turning back to Cisco.

"Yeah… no pressure." He laughed nervously in response.

"I could give you a hand?" Jay offered.

"Best of both worlds?" Cisco smiled.

"I like that." Jay nodded.

As the two off them rushed off to Cisco's workspace, Barry sat himself down on the desk, ruffling his hand through his hair.

Looking up, he observed Harry unusually quiet.

"You good Harry?" Barry asked concerned.

"Yeah why wouldn't I be?" he replied bluntly before stalking away.

Barry watched after Harry, unaware as Caitlin made her way over to him until she was standing right in front of him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Barry locked his fingers together around her waist as she leaned back, her brown eyes looking down at him.

"Holiday blues? Can't be easy knowing that Zoom still has his daughter." She whispered, her head looking over her shoulder to where Harry left.

"Yeah..." Barry huffed out.

Looking back up at her, Barry smiled before reaching up and kissing her.

"Hey babe I'll be see you later there's something I got to deal with." He mumbled against her lips before kissing her again and untangling himself from her to leave.

* * *

* _Barry's Lab*_

Barry sat on the edge of his seat uneasy, as Iris paced nervously up and down the room. Just as Barry opened his mouth to try and sooth her down, Joe walked in.

"Hey... hah okay…. So the last time the two of you were looking at me like that was when you both took my convertible for a joy ride and wrapped it around that big old oak tree on Fairmount drive." He laughed as he stood back eyeing both his children.

"Dad I-" Iris stuttered.

Suddenly she was lost for words. Barry looked back and forth between Iris and Joe as she stared up at him, water pooling in her eyes.

"Right Joe we have something we need to tell you." He said stepping in.

"No umm… I have something I need to tell you. It's about Francine." Iris choked, blinking away the tears.

Barry stepped back, offering his support knowing that Iris needed to be the one to tell Joe the truth. At Francine's name, Joe went completely silent. He could only stare unspeaking… unsure.

"When she left us… she was pregnant." Iris confessed.

Barry lurched up out of his seat as he saw Joe fumble, like his legs were about to give way. But Joe held up his hand, turning him away. Joe placed a hand over his mouth as he brushed past both of them looking out the window.

"Did she have the baby?" he whispered.

"Yes. His name is Wally… Wally West." Iris cried, her arms wrapped protectively around herself.

"It's short for Wallace… that's what we were going to name you if you were a boy." Joe stuttered, his back still turned to them.

"I only found out a couple of weeks ago… dad I am so sorry that I didn't tell you sooner. That's why she reached out after all these years. She wanted us to before she -" Iris began to apologize, tears falling down her cheek as she tried reaching out to her father.

Joe turned around to face them, his eyes red rimmed and distant.

"Before she died… And I thought Francine had run out of surprises. I have to get to work." He said hastily as he scooped up the jacket he had thrown over Barry's desk.

"Dad listen… dad." Iris called reaching for Joe.

But Joe held up his hand, stepping away stopping her dead in her tracks.

"I'm sorry. Just let me sit with it." He said and left.

In that moment, Iris collapsed. Crying hysterically, Barry rushed to her side cradling her as she wept.

* * *

* _Pipeline*_

After the unexpected visit from Snart, Barry headed back to S.T.A.R Labs to update the rest of the team. With Joe nowhere to be seen, Barry left the cortex in search for him. Turning a corner, Barry saw Joe leaning against the wall of the entrance of the pipeline with his eyes closed.

"Hey…" Barry called out to his adoptive father.

"I was just thinking about it… a big drug bust me and Singh made about 10 years ago. After we went out for lunch to treat ourselves for a job well done and while we were ordering, I got this feeling in my chest. Like my heart was being squeezed. And I knew something wasn't right. So I called your school and the nurse said to me that she was just about to call me. Iris was on the way to the hospital."

"When her appendix burst." Barry recalled.

"And I knew it. I could feel it…. Right here." Joe emphasised his hand over his chest.

"I knew my kid needed me. So if I have that feeling as a parent… why didn't I feel it for my son?" he asked desperately even though he probably knew Barry didn't know the answer.

"Joe I mean it's not your fault that you didn't know about him." Barry said lightly, unsure of what to say.

"Yeah it was. When Francine left that last time… I should have looked for her. I'm a cop… I could have found her. Brought her back here. Tried again… tried harder."

"You were protecting Iris." Barry defended.

"I've been telling myself that for 20years. A 20year lie but I wasn't protecting her, I was protecting myself. I couldn't stand it anymore. I couldn't… I hated not being able to help Francine. So it was easier for her to be dead… out my life out of our lives. But it wasn't for iris. I was being selfish. And that poor boy paid the price."

"Joe…"

"He never had a father. To read to him at night… to show him how to throw a football… to make him feel safe and loved. Who told him to be a man Barry?" Joe cried, looking away ashamed.

"Him… I can't even say his name… what have I done."

Lost for words, Barry moved closer to his father, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Joe you have been there for me every day since I meet you… you have. I know you would have done the same if you knew. I'm sorry." Was all he could say.

* * *

* _Moments later*_

Strolling back into the cortex with Joe by his side, both Jay and Cisco looked at him with a wide grin plastered across their face. Barry watched them with curious eyes as they stepped aside to unveil the wand.

"Barry how does it look?" Jay asked.

"Eerie familiar." Barry whispered as he picked up the wand.

"How's Patty? Joe told us she has history with Martin?" Caitlin asked as she joined the boys.

"She is hiding a lot of pain behind her smile." He whispered his eyes focusing on the wand.

"The thing is she only opened up to the Flash, so even if did talk to her I wouldn't know what to say." Barry smiled as he looked back up at Caitlin.

"Well it's been my experience that being around you is a big help." She said warmly as she nudged him in the arm.

"Thanks babe" he whispered in her ear as he pulled her close kissing the top of her head.

* * *

* _Later that night back at S.T.A.R Labs*_

After an eventful night many children will remember, Barry had returned back to S.T.A.R Labs after having dropped Patty back off at her apartment. After everything that has happened over the course of 24 hours, Barry realized in having talked down Patty from killing Martin, that he too hadn't let go of his pain… of his hatred of Wells. And if he was ever going to beat him… if he was ever going to have a future and be happy he needed to let that pain and hate go. As he stared his suit he knew what he needed to do.

"Bar hey."

Spinning around, Barry welcomed Joe with a warm smile.

"Hey." He whispered, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Everybody's heading over to our place for Christmas. You okay?" he asked concerned.

"Yeah… nothing like some metahuman re-generative healing can't cure. How did it go with Francine?" Barry replied shrugging his shoulders, changing the subject.

"It was good. Really good actually. I mean I spent so long lying about her being dead I start believing it. But those feelings were always there that anger that guilt… I just didn't realize how much I needed to forgive her. And now there's room for another West." He said excitedly as a grinned stretched out across his face.

"Did you meet him?" Barry choked out, trying to hide the fact that it did pain him a little that Joe had a son.

"No he still doesn't know but that will come." He whispered.

"You have a son." Barry reiterated trying to sound excited and to convince himself that he was okay with it.

"I know! Speaking of which…"

Barry's eyes crossed down to Joe as he began working to take off his family's watch he knew had been passed down from father to son.

"oh no I can't take that." Barry said shaking his head.

"No I always said that I would give this to my son. And now I have." Joe argued, placing the watch in Barry's hands.

Barry took a moment, looking down at the watch, he felt the water reach his eyes as he took his father into a strong embrace.

"Thank you." He whispered.

"I love you." Joe said patting the back of his head, holding him close.

"Love you too. I'll see you back at the house." Barry said pulling away.

* * *

After Joe left, Barry immediately placed the watch on his wrist. Looking down at it Barry smiled. Wiping away loose tears, Barry made his way over to the treadmill room. Looking in across the panel window Barry, watched over Harry.

"I know that you're not him. But he's not here and I need to say this for me. In that video message you said... you said that I'd never really be happy and I've been trying, trying really hard. And after what Joe said… helping Patty. I realized your still in my heart. How much I hate you. Hate you for what you've done. I don't want to hate you anymore I can't. I can't hate you anymore. I forgive you." He cried.

 _I forgive you._ He repeated.

"You need me for something." Harry's voice cut though the speakers.

"No. No, I'm good. You know you should really come over Christmas tonight, you shouldn't be alone." Barry muttered, trying to regain his composure.

"It's a nice offer but I can't. Not without my daughter." He replied before turning back to whatever he was working on.

"Alright." Barry nodded turning away to leave.

* * *

* _West Residence*_

As Barry got home, everyone was already there waiting for him by the open fire as they chatted animatedly amongst themselves sipping some of Gran's famous Eggnog. The sight of his family warmed Barry's heart as he stepped in unnoticed, watching as everyone laughed and joked happily.

Suddenly he caught the eye of a pretty brunette who without a word, smiled and made her way over to him. With a mug of eggnog in hand, Caitlin slung her arms around him, interlocking her them around his neck. She seemed light and a little tipsy. The sight of her made him laugh. As everyone around them, seemingly unaware of his presence, Barry looked down at Caitlin, her eyes warm and inviting. Leaning down he placed a soft his on her lips.

Pulling away Barry, grazed his hands over her arms, taking her hand in his before dragging her away.

"Come with me." He whispered still tasting the lingering taste of cinnamon on his lips.

Slipping away from the warm lights down stairs, Barry pulled Caitlin behind him upstairs and into his childhood room. Reaching down, Barry pulled the door open to his room, allowing Caitlin to stumble in first.

"What are we doing up here?" she questioned, as she swirled around to face him.

Barry gave her a half lazy smile as he took a moment to breathe in the sight of her. Slightly drunk, light on her feet, her hair free falling across her face as she danced free spiritedly on the spot.

Stepping forward Barry took both of Caitlin's hands in his.

"Do you remember when we were last up here? Last Christmas?" he whispered as he placed her hands on his shoulders, and his own gliding down to her waist.

"Yes…" she replied blushing as she looked away.

Barry reached under her chin, tilting her head up so he could see her face. As he spoke he began to sway on the spot.

"Do you remember the Christmas present you gave me?"

"I placed my hand in front of your face." She giggled.

Her chest humming against his own as her laughter escaped through her throat.

"It was one of the best nights of my life…" he whispered as he pushed Caitlin, spinning her out before pulling her back against him.

As they swayed slowly, Barry held her hand over his chest. His heart beating in a sure and steady rhythm as he continued to speak.

"In that moment I knew I wanted to be yours. I didn't know when or how but when I held your hand in mine I promised myself that however long it took, I was going to be the last man to place a ring on that finger."

Caitlin just hummed as she smiled longingly back into his eyes.

"Cait… this time last year I don't know if you realized or even meant to maybe have a forever with me… and the reason I was late tonight was because I picked this up from the jewellers. They called earlier saying that they'd finished cleaning it after… you know what happened." He trailed off dropping her hands; Barry fished out a diamond ring from his pocket… his eyes never leaving hers.

"And so tonight… I'm going to make this promise to you again." He added before kneeling down in front of her.

"My heart was never mine to own. It had always belonged to you. So I promise to be yours... forever. And now all I need to know is will you spend your forever with me?"

"Yes… yes… Again yes!" she repeated as she pulled him up taking him into her arms, her lips crashing into his.

Pulling away, Barry looked down slipping the ring back onto her finger. Where he knew it always belonged. Grabbing her on either side of her face, Barry pulled her lips to his. His lips soft and tender as their lips moulded together.

"Merry Christmas Cait." He breathed against her lips.

"Merry Christmas. I love you." She said kissing him back.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Cisco's head came peering through the crack in the door.

"There you guys are!" He exclaimed.

"Well if you two are done making out… dinners just about ready. And I'm hungrayy!" He emphasised as he patted his belly and turned to head back down stairs.

Caitlin leaned her forehead against his chest as they both burst out laughing.

"Come on we better get back down there." She giggled as she intertwined her fingers with his.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

As they made their way down the stairs hand in hand, everyone was already gathered into the dining room, dropping their glasses to the table as the last of the food was brought to the table by Joe and Iris.

"There you guys are!" Iris exclaimed as she dropped a dish of mash potatoes onto the table.

Turning to face them, Iris was the first to notice.

"OMG! When?! AAAHHHH!" She screamed as she came running up to Caitlin throwing her arms around her and pulling her into a strong embrace.

"And you didn't tell me!" She scolded glaring towards Barry as she playfully slapped him across the chest.

Caitlin could stop smiling.

"What? What's with all the screaming and slapping?" Joe asked confused and slightly concerned.

Caitlin just laughed as she turned to face Barry grinning uncontrollably.

"Come on let me see!" Iris bounced as she reached for Caitlin's hand.

Catching Barry's eye, both of them shrugged then nodded in agreement. After a beat, both of them turned back to the curious eyes of everyone in the room.

"We're engaged!" they shouted in unison.

Without hesitation the whole room roared with excitement and congratulations. In the next second, Caitlin accepted congratulatory hugs and kisses.

"Welcome to the family." Joe whispered as he kissed her on the cheek.

"Finally!" Cisco teased as he hugged her tightly.

Then Jay came around, looking a little out of place. A smile across his face, he nodded in her direction. Holding up a glass he mouthed a 'Congratulations'. Caitlin feeling a bit uneasy smiled and turned to thank everyone in the room. Brushing away the awkward glance from Jay, Caitlin leaned into Barry side just as the doorbell rang pulling them away from the celebrations.


	9. I Do

_**Sorry it took so long but here's the next chapter FINALLY! Hope you enjoy!**_

 _ **Peace out homies!**_

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

As Barry sped through the streets of Central City, weaving in and out of traffic, Barry couldn't help but feel the excitement pulse through him. Moving pretty fast, Barry couldn't help but think of all the things that had happened to him to get him to where he was… or more importantly where he was going. It was a pretty ordinary story he shrugged to himself. Boy meets girl. Happens every day right? Except that he was struck by lightning and began the fastest man alive. So in his case nothing in his life was ever that simple. But as he skidded to a stop outside their favourite restaurant, it took Barry almost less than a second to find her across the crowded room, her face half lit by the dancing shadows cast by the flickering candle in the centre of the dining table. Looking at her, Barry knew that his love for Caitlin was the only thing that simple. It needed to explanation, it needed no justification.

And as he though these things, Caitlin eyes caught sight of him staring at her. As Barry moved to her, he noticed her expression change. Her eyes widening in shock as she came running towards him. At that point Barry felt the heat radiating in his hand. Dropping the bouquet of flowers to the ground in surprise, Barry began stepping on the petals extinguishing their flames.

"Oh." Barry sighed as he looked at the charcoal heap at his feet.

Caitlin was now in front of him, a wide grin across her face as she giggled uncontrollably.

"It's all good." She snorted a laugh as she placed her hand on his arm.

"Those were for me anyway… right?" she teased.

A grin spread across his face as he tore his eyes away from the mess on the ground and into her soft brown eyes.

"They were. I didn't realize roses were so… flammable." He laughed.

"It's the thought that counts. And in proper fire safety management that counts." She nodded approvingly as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Pulling her closer Barry placed a small peck on her lips.

"You know, I have spent most of my life feeling very unlucky." He whispered as he pulled away so he could see her.

"Ahemm" she hummed.

"Until you." He stated with a small smile.

"Me?" she replied sarcastically, her face changing to a look of fake disbelief.

"Yes… you." He mouthed, kissing her on the tip of her nose, causing another rapture of laughter to escape her.

"It feels like I've been struck by lightning twice." He confessed.

And in that split second of happiness, it was as if his whole world stopped. In a darkened flash, Caitlin was out of his arms and trapped in the iron grip of Zoom. Barry heard a deathly scream escape her lips as she called out for him.

 _AHHHHH!_

Before Barry could react, Zoom was gone, before he could blink, he sped after them, chasing him across the streets and onto a secluded rooftop high above the city.

"Help!" she choked as she struggled against Zoom's restrain.

Barry looked from Zoom to Caitlin and back, wary of any movement he made that could cause Zoom to harm her.

"Flash everything you have will be mine." Zoom's voice crackled as he laughed, tossing Caitlin over the edge of the building.

"NOOOO!" Barry screamed.

Jolting upright, Barry's eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room. His breathing shallow and ragged Barry dared to stare beside him, Caitlin stirred in her sleep but didn't wake. Barry allowed himself to take a deep breath. It was just a dream. _It was just a dream._

Shifting his weight, Barry threw his legs over the side of the bed, letting his head fall into his hands. Closing his eyes Barry took in deep breaths, trying to bring back his breathing back to normal. As his body began to relax, Barry peered over his shoulder, his eyes resting on Caitlin snoring quietly. As he did every night for the past few days, Barry carefully pulled himself out of bed, crossing the room he bent down kissing her gently on the forehead, wary not to wake her and left her to rest. Once he made soundly out of the apartment, Barry sped through the early morning towards a semi empty vast space. With the morning chill lingering low, Barry shrugged into his coat, his breathing producing hot clouds of steam.

Barry took a moment and stared at the half built home. Exhaling, Barry stepped forward and continued at his little project.

On the nights that he found himself awake and drench in sweat, Barry escaped here. A place he could forget about the fear that plagued his dreams. Here, working, he felt the hope of his future and what it had the potential to be ebb away at the darkness. Not wanting to burden Caitlin with his fears, Barry put his energy into building their future, and deciding to pick the happiness in his life than the destruction that surrounded them every day with what they did and who he was. Besides Caitlin, this he would be his home. This will be _their_ home.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

* _S.T.A.R Labs*_

Caitlin stared out absent-mindedly at the screen in front of her, her attention focused on the thoughts racing through her mind. She couldn't help but worry as she dared glance up from up under her lashes towards Barry. Her brows creased together as she thought about the past few nights she woke up searching for his warmth and finding his side of the bed empty and cold. As she stared further into oblivion her mind continued to race. _Where is he going? Is it because of the nightmare he keeps having every night? What's he afraid of? Why isn't he telling me what's wrong?_

"As some of you may well know I've been deeply embroiled in a one sided invisible enemy." Cisco voice echoed into her mind.

Blinking, Caitlin jolted upright, her eyes refocusing in where she was. Silently clearing her throat Caitlin re-joined their conversation.

"Oh not the turtle again." Caitlin mumbled rolling her eyes.

"What? Wha—Who is the _turtle_?" Barry stammered looking around at all the faces in the room confused.

Caitlin smiled, thinking just how cute he got as his brows furrowed together confused.

"It's Cisco's white whale." She explained, he smile stretching as she caught his eye.

Caitlin watched as Barry turned away his eyes seeking Cisco's for confirmation, her smile faded as her mind drifted back to her earlier thoughts. As she stared at him engaging with Cisco and the rest of the team, her mind dwelled on the past few nights. She thought about how she'd wake up in the middle of the night, her hand stretching out seeking him only to find him gone.

"Do see what you're doing here Caitlin?" He continued pointing accusingly at her.

Flustered that she'd missed out part of their conversation immediately threw her hands in the air apologetically.

"Everybody's confused now." He grumbled shaking his head.

"Get to it." Harry said exasperated.

Cisco narrowed his eyes towards Harry before leading onto the turtle's case.

"I stumbled on a few of these cases while we were looking for the Reverse Flash. Robberies that were seemingly committed at high speed, people holding their beloved items one second and then those items were gone in the next. Tell me what you see."

Turning away from them Cisco clicked the pointer in his hand twice bringing up a recorded video of one of the turtle's heists.

Trying to concentrate on the case at hand, Caitlin straightened herself up and watched along with the rest of the team.

"What so he can stop time?" Barry concluded turning towards Cisco.

"No, no look at the time code. It's still running." Cisco explained pointing towards the small numbers on the bottom right hand corner of the screen.

"Yeah okay, so if he's not stopping time then what's he doing?" Harry said hastily.

"He's slowing down everything around him." Cisco clarified as he switched off the screen.

"And that's why we call him the turtle."

"Why haven't you ever mentioned this guy to me before?" Barry said unfolding his arms looking slightly offended.

"I don't… I think we've been a little distracted… you know with Captain Cold and the Weather Wizard and Gorilla Grodd… do I need to go on?" Cisco rambled sarcastically, a hint of defensiveness in his voice as he stepped closer to Barry.

Caitlin saw a hint of a smirk on Barry's face as he stifled a laugh.

"Okay so if we can catch him and find out how he uses his powers…"

"Maybe he can show Zoom what it's like in the slow lane!" Cisco exclaimed followed by miming the word 'boom' as he pretended to drop the mic.

"How would you even know how to find him?" Jay probed with a hint of strange curiosity to his voice.

"Well, all the robberies in the videos all correspond with police reports that were dismissed as lost or missing items instead of thefts." Said Barry as he rounded around the team over towards the computers.

"The suspects MO being?" Jay continued.

"Items being of immense personal value." Barry whispered as he leaned down over her to use the keyboard.

Caitlin relaxed back into his chest as his arms spread around her, his fingers speeding across the board, searching the CCPD's databases for a pattern of robberies.

As a blur of windows opening, closing and scanning at superhuman speed came flying across her eyes, Caitlin took a steady breath as she closed her eyes feeling suddenly dizzy. As she re-opened them, the screen had stopped scanning, and showed a press release notifying an announcement by the CCPD of that the world renowned Vandervoort diamonds have been successfully been recovered. As he eyes scanned the article, she felt the slight pressure of Barry's lips in her hair before a gush of wind blew strands into her face and she knew he was gone.

To everyone's confused expression, Caitlin cleared her throat before reading the press release they had just stumbled across.

"Ahhh.. um it appears that there is a press conference at CCPD because the Vandervoort diamonds have just been recovered."

"From the hells heart I stop at thee." Cisco recited.

Having not the slightest clue what he meant, Caitlin stared at Cisco wide eyed and confused.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

 _*CCPD*_

Arriving unseen, Barry hid away in the shadows, standing on guard as he watched the press conference continue down stairs. His eyes continually searching the room for any sign of the Turtle.

"The perpetrators who committed this heartless crime have been apprehended and are now in our custody. And we are happy to report that the famous Vandervoort diamonds have been returned to their rightful owner." Captain Singh's voice ranged out throughout the room.

"The real gem is the return of my great grandfather's ring. And that return to the family as well is most priceless to me."

Listening upon the Vandervoots's descendants heartfelt gratitude, Barry scanned the room his eyes falling upon a conspicuous small man. Hidden under the hood of his jacket Barry knew that was the guy they were looking for. That was the Turtle.

"Gotcha" he whispered to himself.

As Barry raced down to capture him, a wave hit him. It's felt as if something thick and heavy was weighing him down. As fast as he was, everything including himself had slowed. Barry couldn't do anything as he watched this man stroll up and snatch the ring, pausing with a crooked smile, he winked at Barry before leaving.

And just as fast or as slow as he left, the room sped back up with Barry standing in the middle of it, the diamond gone. Realising his situation Barry flashed away before anyone else in the room had the chance to blink.

"The rings gone… what happened to it? Lock this place down. No one leaves this room. Sweep the precinct." Barry heard Captain Singh order as he sped away.

* _Back at S.T.A.R Labs*_

Once again Barry sat perched up on the med bed as Caitlin did his full body medical work up. With the light shining brightly in his eyes Barry followed as Caitlin moved it left from right.

With the sound of a subtle click, the light vanished in an instant and Barry found himself blinking a little too much, trying to readjust his eyes to the normal lighting in the room.

"Well the good news is, whatever the turtle did it only affected you temporarily." Caitlin sighed relieved.

Barry looked up to her, sliding her hand into his, Barry gave her a gentle squeeze as he gave her a reassuring smile that he was fine.

"Yo what was it like being in turtle time?" Cisco laughed eyeing him curiously.

"Yeah … it was weird it was like waves of inertness where all the energy was suddenly sucked out of my body and it would return." He explained looking back at Cisco, his hand still in curled around hers.

"That's because that's exactly what was happening. He has the ability to transfer all the surrounding kinetic energy into himself." Harry enlightened the rest of the team.

"Leaving everyone else in a temporary state of potential energy." Jay added.

"That's right."

"So why could I still move?" Barry asked his brows pulling together confused.

"Speed. Your speed allows you to change positions faster than anyone else." Harry explained further.

"So you convert your stored potential energy to kinetic energy." Jay finished.

"Excuse me where are you going?" Cisco accused Harry.

"Going to try and figure out a way to use this against Zoom… you remember Zoom." He replied bluntly.

"Cisco, please join me. We'll use your idea and take it to new scientific heights and save the world… yes I'd love to!" Cisco mumbled under his breath as he followed Harry out of the room.

Just as soon as they left the room, an alert on the computer pulled Caitlin's attention away. Barry felt the warmth of her skin leave as her hand slid out of his. Barry pulled himself off the med bay as he began following her out.

"Okay the facial recognition software found us a match from the press conference footage. The turtle's name is Russell Glosson. He was a small time thief who stopped thieving after the particle accelerator explosion." Caitlin informed them as she skimmed over the details of his file.

After a moment of reading over the file himself over her shoulder, Barry squeezed her lightly on her arm before turning to leave.

"Alright I'm going to head to work and catch Joe up. Let me know if you find out anything else." He muttered distractedly as he pulled out his phone walking out.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

Caitlin's eyes followed him before she took a moment and second guessed herself and jumped started out after him.

"Hey you... you got a sec." her voice called after him.

"Yeah…" he said softly stopping so they were standing a couple of feet from each other.

"I just want to make sure everything's okay." Caitlin whispered fidgeting with her hands.

"Yeah it is." He said a bit too fast.

Caitlin looked at him suspiciously. Taking a deep breath she stepped forward taking his hand into hers.

"Babe… I don't want you to feel burdened by anything. If you are I'm here to share that burden. I'm here for you." She pressed.

"I'm okay." He said smiling avoiding her eyes.

Unable to hide the disappointment in her face, Caitlin couldn't help but feel a little hurt. She couldn't understand why he was being so distant. Carefully, Caitlin bit her tongue and didn't push any further, she didn't want to run the risk of Barry pushing her further away. Instead she returned his smile dropping his hand she turned to leave.

Caitlin was barely a step away when she heard a Barry rustle through his hair before she felt his fingers reach out to her pulling her to halt.

"Cait wait…" he whispered his voice pleading.

For a few moments they didn't speak. They just looked at each other, her eyes searching his for an explanation. Anything at this point would help her make her understand for a moment.

"I need you to know that I'm not trying to push you away."

"Then why does it feel like you are?"

"It's nothing. Really I'm fine. It's just…" Barry paused looking down at his phone.

"Barry?"

"Umm I have to go."

Caitlin's jaw tightened her hand pulling away from his crossing her arms across her chest.

"Cait… Look we just need a night away. With everything going on around us we haven't seemed to find the time for ourselves since we got engaged. Tomorrow why don't we go out to dinner? Please? I promise I'll tell you everything."

"Okay."

"I think it's just what we need." He added with a small smile.

"I'll see you later?" he whispered with a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

"Yeah" she answered releasing her arms from across her chest no longer angry.

"I love you." he said as he reached out pulling her to him kissing her squarely on her forehead, his lips lingering there for a second longer.

"You too." She replied as she closed her eyes leaning into him.

Caitlin watched as Barry left her unwillingly, probably having sensed her disappointment and frustration. Taking a moment, Caitlin straightened herself out before returning back to the cortex where she found Jay staring glumly around the room.

"You okay?" she called out.

"Yeah… yeah it's just looking at that and thinking how I can't help anyone out anymore." He whispered as he pointed flimsy at Barry suit beside him.

"Well we have lots of technology here. Why don't we see if can't find a way to get your speed back." Caitlin suggested with heavy optimism.

"I'm a scientist to Caitlin. The first thing I did when I got here was to try and get my speed back. Believe me whatever test you could run… I've already done it." Jay replied flatly, dropping his head as he left her standing alone in the middle of the room.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

* _Later that night… West Residence*_

Barry's tapped his fingers constantly on the top of his knee as he stared into the burning fire brewing the fireplace. Taking a deep breath Barry sunk deeper into the couch as he allowed him a few moments for a quick nap while they waited.

"Okay I think we can call it Wally is not coming." Iris grunted as she tossed her hands in the air after checking the time on her watch for the tenth time.

Barry opened his eyes blinking away the tiredness, drawing himself back into the present.

"I'm sorry Joe. I know how much this meant to you." Barry said genuinely.

"He's a kid right? I get it." Joe shrugged off, pretending he wasn't the slightest bit disappointed, but as Barry caught Iris' eye through the corner of his eye they both knew it was a fatherly front for his children.

"He could have at least called." Iris spat rolling her eyes.

"There could have been a million reasons why he didn't." Joe defended, downing the last bit of his beer in one go.

"But thank you for being here I love you." He finished taking Iris into his arms and kissing her on the top of her head.

"I love you." She whispered back.

"See you in the mornin' Bar" He reached taking Barry into a quick on armed embrace.

"Yeh." Barry smiled into his father's shoulder.

After they all said their goodnights, Barry watched his adoptive father vanish up the stairs.

"Well West family 2.0 isn't off to a great start. You've been quiet all evening... is it the Turtle?" Iris asked looking at him concerned.

Barry was still staring up at the stairs when he turned his attention back to Iris.

"How do you know about him?" He quizzed, his eyebrows pulling together.

When she gave him an 'are you serious' look, a faint smile played on his lips. _Right how could she not know._ He laughed to himself.

"No. Um… no. I've just had a lot on my mind." He whispered back in response.

"Caitlin?"

Barry looked up for the second time surprised.

"What else could be on your mind Barry?" She teased.

"And we may have meet up for coffee." She added in a low whisper.

"Iris…" He said shaking his head.

"Barry she's your fiancée. She's really worried about you but doesn't want to keep forcing you to open up it feels like your already pushing her away. Which I don't understand why you are… Look she's just wondering why your suddenly be so guarded." She quickly added in defending herself.

"And wh—what did you tell her?" He pressed.

"I told her to talk to you."

Barry leaned on the back of the dining chair, lowering his head between his arms as he breathed out a heavy sigh.

"What's been going on Bar? She mentioned that you were having nightmares."

Barry thought if he ignored the subject, Iris would get the hint that he didn't want to talk about it.

"She's worried about you Bar. And now I'm starting to."

After a moment of battling how to respond, Barry drew in a sharp breath, pulling his head up, his eyes heavy and sombre.

"It's about Zoom… killing her." He voiced out for the first time.

Saying those words to someone finally, Barry felt a slight weight off his chest ease away.

"Look I know things have been moving pretty fast. You guys just got back together and now your engaged but you realize you can't keep things from her. You're getting married!"

"I know. I know."

"Barry you're about to share your whole lives with each other. The good and the bad. Hell, you've been through worse and she's never left your side. And that should tell you something. She's not going anywhere. But if you continue to keep things bottled up to yourself you might just lose her one day and not because of Zoom but because you weren't honest. Trust me on that. So if you're serious about her like I know you are, then you have to be willing to open all of yourself up and not just your heart Barry."

"You're right." Barry said resigned throwing his hands up.

"Of course I am." Iris quipped straightening up her back as she tapped him playfully on the shoulder.

"When did that happen?" he joked.

Barry laughed as she squeezed her brows together and crinkled her nose at him in childhood annoyance. Flinching slightly as Iris punched him across the arm both of them ended up in fits of laughter.

Once their laughing faded away and their stomachs ached from laughing stitches, Barry coughed clearing his throat turning to Iris a bit more serious.

"Hey, Iris is it okay if I run something by you?"

"Sure what?" she smiled.

"It's better if I show you." He teased a grin playing on the corners of his mouth.

* * *

 _*A few moments later*_

As the skidded to a halt, Barry held onto Iris whilst she regained her balance. Once he was sure she wasn't going to pass out, Barry walked backwards facing her his arms outstretched, showcasing the secret he's been keeping out before him.

"Barry…" Iris gasped as she took in the view.

"What?!" He mumbled worried, racing back over to her unsure of whether her reaction was good or bad.

"WOW! Barry this… this is beautiful!" she whispered with a smile pulling up on the corner of her lips.

"Really?" Barry asked nervously as he followed Iris line of sight towards the house.

For a moment both of them stood outside, both of them taking in the view.

"Can I see inside?" Iris pushed excitedly tugging at the side of Barry's sleeve.

"Oh yeah, come on." He smiled, stepping forward leading the way to the front door of the house.

As Barry slid the key into the door and with a sound of a click, Barry turned the handle pushing the door open.

With slow creak of the door, Barry stepped to the side, allowing Iris to step inside first. Silence followed as they made their way through the house. Barry fiddled with the key between his fingers nervously waiting to hear what Iris had to say. As Barry followed closely behind her, he almost bumped into her as she suddenly stopped in the middle of main living room, spinning around to face him almost instantaneously.

"She's going to love it!" she screamed ecstatically.

"I hope so." He breathed out a sigh of relief.

"I've been out here pretty much every night trying to finish it, and I think it's finally finished." He whispered as he shoved his hands into his pocket as he waltzed around the room.

"Wait. You built this? Ho—Whe-?" she gapped at him in shock.

Barry let out a chuckle as he stumbled on her expression.

"Yeah. I bought the property a couple of weeks ago. Since I couldn't fall back to sleep after waking up from those nightmares, I'd come here to work on the house. It's meant to be a surprise for Cait for the wedding. I was hoping to bring her out here tonight but I wanted to know if it was looked okay. If you thought it was ready."

"Barry it's beautiful. Omg you're going to start a family in this house. A house you built. We'll have BBQs out there on the patio and you're kids will roast marshmallows on that fire place. It's lovely Barry. She's going to love it."

"Thank-you." He smiled his eyes still wondering over the walls of what will soon be their home.

"Now there's just one more thing…" he said facing her seriously.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

 _*S.T.A.R Labs*_

As Caitlin scoured the internet for any potential leads, she let out a lengthy yawn feeling the exhaustion of a long nights worth of work. Just as she closed to rest her eyes, hoping for the fading chance she'd open them and feel more energized, she heard the distinct sound of her fiancé's voice humming down the halls begging closer to them.

"Hey you guys get anything?" Barry gleamed as he peppered into the room.

Caitlin shook her head feebly in response, her head draping back as she stretched out her neck from side to side.

"Sorry I didn't make it home last night… was with Joe and Iris. Wally didn't show." Barry whispered in her ear as he leaned down and kissed her gently on the forehead.

Caitlin gave a weak smile, opening her eyes to look straight up at him. In that split second it occurred to her, just how relaxed he now seemed. She wasn't sure if it was because she was tired and could possibly be hallucinating but something about his stay with the West's seemed to bring back the Barry she knew.

"It's okay" she hummed back as she reached to take one of his hands that were massaging the tension out of her shoulders.

"Well if you guys are done, I think we found the next target for our thirty something metahuman not a ninja turtle." Cisco muttered rolling his eyes at the two of them.

Caitlin couldn't help but chuckle under her breath as she caught Barry's eye. He winked cheekily at her and both of them turned their full attention to Cisco.

"How long did it take for you to come up with that on?" Caitlin laughed as Cisco's remark.

"It just came out of my mouth… did you see that? That was amazing." He replied boastfully.

Caitlin just nodded her head in response, amused by his unique humour.

"Central City museum is hosting a special black tie event tonight showcasing the Crystal Ball." Cisco continued as he directed their attention to the screen next to them.

Barry felt as Barry shook his head confused.

"Oh it's a famous painting. Apparently it's been recently recovered for Arcovia." Jay added pulling himself into the conversation.

"The painting is on loan to the museum from the Silverbrooke family. Jacob Silverbrook himself said the paintings safe return means more to us than all the money in the world. It's like their begging turtle to rob it." Cisco muttered jumping in just as Jay finished his last word.

Caitlin felt as Barry's hands slipped away. She watched after him as he peeled around them to the centre of the room, his hands together drawn to his lips as he thought.

"Okay. This is a plan. So the Turtle will make his move and we can be there waiting to take him down." Barry organised.

"How do you look in a tux?" Caitlin winked at Barry.

"Come on he's 6'2 square jawed and he's just jacked. I think he looks fine." Cisco mumbled distractedly.

Caitlin opened her mouth to state she was talking to Barry but was cut short.

"I'm 6'4" Jay replied.

Caitlin just smiled and shrugged her shoulders as she looked at Barry who was grinning, having known what she was just thinking. From the moment they were both stifling laughs behind big grins, Caitlin saw the instant flicker of Barry's expression change.

"Oh crap our plans for tonight." He said shocked looking at her with wide eyes of sincerity and disbelief.

Caitlin's mouth went dry. She too had forgotten about their night. She was so distracted by how much Barry seemed to be like his normal self, she had forgotten about how he'd been acting over the past few days.

"No its okay. We can do it another night." She replied clearing her throat as promise of a romantic night away dawned on her.

"No, no, no we can make this work just leave it to me. Ahh I'll be back. I'll see you at 8."

"7!" she found herself shouting along with everyone else in the room.

"7 right 7." Barry corrected himself.

"Don't be late." She teased.

"I won't." he smiled before rushing out of the room.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

In a hurry, Barry tore around the corner pulling put his phone he paused in the middle of the hallway and quickly dialled Iris' number.

"Hey Iris change of plans…"

"… okay yep.. yep.. thank you so much!"

Barry smiled giddily as he shoved his phone back into his back pocket.

"Don't do it." Harry said bluntly pulling up behind him.

"Huh? How do you know what I'm doing?"

"Don't look so surprised Allen. You care for this woman?"

"I love her."

"That's nice. Then keep her as far away from this as possible. Let her go… and here's why if Zoom finds out who you care for, who you love, who you live for he will come… he will come and take them from you. So if you say you love her…" Barry follows Harry's eyes as he looked into the cortex where Caitlin yawned before lazily returning back to the computer.

After a moment of caught staring at her beauty, Barry turned back to Harry shaking his head in disagreement.

"Then let her go. She's already in deep, you want to keep her safe… then let her go." Harry grunted before spinning on his heels leaving Barry staring after him shocked and angry.

* * *

 _*7pm at the museum*_

Taking a heavy swig at the glass in his hand Barry found it hard to tame his nerves… and it didn't help that the alcohol did nothing to help him. Fumbling with his bow tie Barry spoke low into his ear piece.

"Alright. Keep your eyes out for the turtle. A sentence I thought I'd never get to say." He whispered covertly.

Dropping his hands, Barry rapped his fingers on the bar top as he tried waiting patiently for Caitlin to arrive. Besides the night he decided to propose Barry had never felt as nervous as he was in that moment. Feeling the sweat on the inside of his palm, Barry reached out for a napkin to the left of him, drying off his palms.

When Barry looked back up from his hands, he froze. Suddenly his mouth was dry and he found that he couldn't breathe. Caitlin stood across the crowded room, the wind from the open door sweeping her hair around her face, falling perfectly back over her shoulder. For a moment Barry allowed himself watching her as she scoured the ballroom for him. When her eyes meet his, she lit up, a small spreading across her face as she crossed the room towards him. Barry cleared his throat as he approach, straightening out his suit before she reached him.

As the she closed the distance between them, Barry's vision suddenly flashed back to his dreams. How happy they were for a split second then her agonizing scream that left him waking up in a cold sweat.

"Babe you okay… do I look okay?" Caitlin's voice cut through his train off thought bringing him back into the present.

"Beautiful just like a dream." He said recovering himself as he looked over her in awe.

 _God was she beautiful._ He thought as he leaned down placing his lips on hers.

"Well you don't look so bad yourself." She whispered after they pulled apart and she reached out to adjust his bow tie.

Smiling her lifted up his hand between them.

"Can I have this dance?"

"I'd love to." She smiled taking his hand.

Turning on his heel and leading Caitlin to the middle of the dance floor, Barry let out a silent exhale of air. Once they reached the crowded floor, Barry spun Caitlin around before drawing her into his arms and they began to sway slowly in time to the music filling the room.

"Well Cisco and Harry are in position outside." She said as she wrapped both her arms around his neck.

"Good." Barry said a bit distracted.

"Barry are you sure you're alright? You seem to be somewhere else?"

"I'm fine." He lied. His mind wondering off to where Iris was now and what she was helping him with.

Suddenly Barry realized that they had stopped dancing and Caitlin had pulled away from him slightly. He caught her staring at him intently, her eyes burning with understandable frustration. Before Barry had a chance to speak or begin to explain, Caitlin opened her mouth to speak.

"Barry you're not fine. And don't tell me otherwise." She voiced raising her hand to stop him from interrupting.

"I know you. I've been patient; I've been trying to understand. But how can I when you won't tell me what's going on." She said her voice raising an octave so that the people a couple of feet from them turned towards them.

When Barry didn't fill in the time she left for him to answer, Caitlin blew out a breath of frustration, tearing herself from his arms. This time when she spoke she no longer cared about strangers listening into their private conversation.

"Barry you've been distant the past couple of days and don't say you haven't because you have! Waking up in the middle of the night screaming and not wanting to talk about it, cool I understand, but what I don't get is why you're pushing me away. Why now? And then tonight we're here together, yes on a mission but you seem to be elsewhere. Somewhere where I'm not. Barry I'm here and I'm not going anywhere!"

Barry looked at her lost for words. He didn't know where or how to begin to explain the fear he had of losing her. That every time that he closed his eyes, he was drowned in the darkness of his worst fears. How could he tell her that he had no way of knowing how to protect her and the city when Zoom was so much faster than him? Always one step ahead. How could he let her know that he couldn't be the hero she needed him to be?

"Cait I—" he paused, his mouth dry.

"Barry?" she pressed.

Before Barry could begin to explain, through the glimpse in the corner of his eye, Barry saw the Patty and a group of undercover detectives across the room.

"Oh no." he whispered.

"What?" Caitlin asked frustrated for the distraction but genuinely concerned.

"Patty's here." He said flatly.

"What?" Caitlin exclaimed.

"Wait Barry the turtle's here." She added pulling Barry to the other side of the room. Barry turned in the direction Caitlin was focusing on and caught sight of the Turtle sneaking between shadows into the room where the painting hung.

"Wait here." He requested before speeding out of the room.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

"Your pupils are normal, your heart rate a little low but either than that no concussive symptoms." She snapped autonomously as she clicked off the light and slipping it back into her pocket/

"I really do feel fine." He reassured her as he blinked continuously.

Caitlin didn't respond. Instead, she turned her back and continued to put away her things. _I know!_ She screamed in her mind. _You've said that 100x_ shaking her head and leaving the room.

"What about turtle?" she heard Barry's distant voice converse in the other room.

"No sign of him." Cisco shrugged in response.

"Or the painting. He must have gotten away with it in the chaos." Jay added.

"Yeah things went a little sideways when Patty showed up the serious conversation you two were having that we were not listening to. Obviously." Cisco mumbled softly.

Caitlin still in earshot rolled her eyes, agitated she left the other room unwilling to stay and listen to anymore.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

Barry craned his head over to the side his eye on Caitlin. Barry watched as disappeared out of the room. His chest tightened as he knew how she was feeling towards him, and he knew it was his fault. He needed to explain. Tearing himself off the bed, Barry began to follow out after her. As he took a step forward he saw the curious eyes wondering where he was going.

"Oh my god. I need to go. I need to talk to Caitlin." He explained hurriedly.

"Finding Turtle's what's important right now!" Harry impeded.

"Yeah this is important to me too." Barry shouted as he stepped around Harry and began to hurry after her.

"But we need to see if your speed still works." Cisco bellowed after him.

Without a word Barry flashed away hearing the distant words "Well his speed still works."

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

Caitlin was in her private lab, when she heard the faint raps of someone's knuckles knocking on her door. Caitlin grudgingly kept her back turned, unwilling to address any sort of company.

"Can I talk to you for a second?"

Caitlin turned around surprised. She hadn't expected to see Jay standing in the middle of her doorway.

"You okay? I saw you leave… you seemed a bit upset earlier."

"Yeah, it's nothing. Just a little tired that's all." She lied smiling.

"Um… was there something you wanted to talk about Jay?"

"Ahh yeah, I never got to congratulate you and Barry on your engagement at Christmas. Champagne." He said holding up a bottle with a couple of science beakers in the other hand.

"Thanks." She replied trying to disguise the odd surprise in her voice.

Caitlin accepted the quarter filled beaker from Jay.

"Congrats." He whispered clinking his glass with hers.

"Cait… actually I wanted to s—"

Taking a sip from the beaker, Caitlin looked over at Jay, listening intently to what he was saying. Curious where this conversation was leading to, there was a sudden consecutive rap on the door, interrupting their conversation.

Barry stood in the door frame about half a step to the left where Jay was just a moment ago. Caitlin's face fell slightly, as the feelings of frustration came flooding back to her.

"Hey Jay do you mind giving us a sec?" he asked as his eyes flickered to the floor guiltily.

"Sure. I'll go see if I can make myself useful." He said grudgingly, his eyes flickering between her and Barry.

Before leaving he gave a Caitlin a small smile, placing his beaker down on her desk. Caitlin returned the smile and watched as he brushed passed Barry. Caitlin's eyes then set themselves on Barry. As she they waited for Jay to be out of earshot, Caitlin thought she saw a glimpse of Jay turn and look at Barry with a burning hatred and then he was gone. Caitlin blinked in surprise, trying to refocus her eyes on Jay but he was had already disappeared away. Caitlin shook the thought away, she was deliriously tired. She was probably hallucinating what she just saw.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

"Hey." She said grumpily.

Barry took a second, feeling a bit uncomfortable as he stood in the door way. He wasn't sure how he was going to begin to start apologizing or even explaining. He hated that she was angry, when she had every right to be. She was right, he had been distant and taking on Iris' advice he stepped forward ready to share.

"Cait—I'm sorry."

"Barry I don't want an apology."

"I know."

"I just want to know what's been going on."

"I know. I just don't know where to start…"

"How about why all of a sudden you've been distant or…"

"You're right." Barry jumped in cutting her off.

"These past couple of days I have been distant, but not for the reasons you think. You deserve an explanation but I thought it'd be better if I showed you and then I'll explain everything."

Barry reached out his hand, hoping that she'd trust him and take it. After a heartbeat of silence, Barry watched her warily. Seconds later, Barry felt as Caitlin's fingers curled into his bringing him a smile on his face.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

With her arms firmly wrapped around his neck, Caitlin hid her face holding onto him tighter as she braced herself against the rush of wind sweeping past them as they sped through the city. Caitlin had no idea where they were headed but she felt at ease knowing that she was soon about to get some answers.

In only a matter of minutes did she feel Barry finally begin to slow down. She didn't dare let go of him until her feet were firmly back down on solid ground.

As her feet hit the solid surface, Caitlin took a moment to take in her surroundings. Barry stood in front of her watching her cautiously, silently waiting for her reaction. Taking only a few steps around the room, her mouth was gaping open at the beauty of the place.

She found herself standing in the middle of the main living area, the room bare and vast, however was illuminated by hundreds of warm candles casting majestic shadows that danced slowly with each other around the room. Caitlin's heart skipped a beat as she took an intake of air, smelling the sweet aroma of the red and white rose petals scattered romantically throughout the room. She noticed that a portion of the room however remained void, creating a path that led out the glass doors at the other end of the room. Before she took another step further she spun around her eyes seeking out his in the dim light of the candle light.

"Where are we?" she breathed out.

There was a pause before he said. "Home."

Caitlin felt as her chest swelled with happiness. Her mouth suddenly dry and lost for words, she smiled taking another look around her, unable to comprehend just how perfect it all was.

Mesmerized by the place, Caitlin jumped slightly, as she turned to look back to find Barry only inches from her now. His expression was soft yet serious. If she knew him at all she'd say he seemed even slightly nervous.

"You were right." He started his voice low and his eyes still interlocked with hers.

 _Right?_ She questioned but didn't voice out loud.

"You were right when you said that I've been distant. You have to know it's not because I don't love you or that I don't trust you and believe me when I say I do… and I know that if we're going to make this work I have to be honest with you. I've been distant because I'm afraid…"

Caitlin didn't say a word. She knew Barry had to get everything off his chest and she was glad that he finally trusted her enough to tell her the truth.

"…I was afraid of what would happen if I let you in. And I mean deeper into my life than you already are. I was afraid that I'd lose you and still do. I'm afraid that one day I'd wake up and you won't be there next to me. It's those nights when I have those dreams… that I stay awake and watch you sleep. Knowing that your still breathing and in my arms are the only things that can put me at ease. It's those moments I hold onto because I know you're okay. That we're okay." Barry sighed closing his eyes, hiding the pain of those nightmares.

Caitlin took the opportunity to grab him by either side of his face in her hands, pleading him to open back up his eyes to look into hers.

"Babe, I'm not going anywhere. I'm here. I'm yours."

Barry smiled, his hands reaching up to meet hers, pressing his cheeks further into her palms.

"I know" he whispered.

"And after listening to the advice of others… I know I don't want to be afraid anymore. I'm not going to let this fear hold me back from what truly makes me happy in the fear that I'd lose it. So there now there are only two things I want to ask you… one could you forgive me for pushing you away?"

"Yes of course I will." She said reaching out kissing him squarely on his lips.

Caitlin felt as Barry's arms snaked around her waist pulling her tighter into him, his need for her deepening their kiss.

Breaking apart to breath, Barry loosened his arms sliding them around her to take her hand in his.

"And what's the second thing?" She asked beginning to follow him.

"Come with me." He whispered teasing a smile.

Caitlin held on tightly to Barry as he drew her outside. Pushing the glass door open, Caitlin drew a sharp intake of breath.

"Bar—" She turned to face him speechless.

"Wha—what is this?" she stammered looking at him, her heart beating fast in her chest.

"My second question."

"Second question?" Caitlin fumbled as she tore her eyes away too look back at the sight before her.

Continuing from the inside of the house, the red and white roses were scattered down the lawn, small candles lining either side of them creating a clear line down to where everyone they loved stood waiting for them at the other side.

They gave them a small wave and Caitlin replied with a warm smile before turning to face Barry again. Once she looked back up at him, his eyes interlocked with hers. Without taking them off her, Barry had reached out to take her other hand in his before speaking.

"My second question is… will you marry me… now?"

Caitlin didn't need a moment to consider her answer. From the depths of her heart her answer has always been a yes.

Filled with overwhelming joy Caitlin simply reached out crushing her lips hard against Barry's.

"Is that a yes." He mumbled against her lips.

"Yes." She replied back unable to tear herself away from him.

"Good, Iris will take you back inside so you can get ready."

"Ready?" she looked at him confused.

"Yes." He laughed.

"You're dress in in there… I'll be waiting here for you. I love you Cait."

"I love you too."

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

What were merely minutes felt like an eternity as Barry strummed his fingers over his hand, his eyes glued to the doors that led back inside. He stood waiting just for the slightest glimpse of her. Nervous, Barry took in a sharp breath when the sudden reassuring squeeze of his adoptive father beside him, reminded him to breathe.

"Don't worry she'll be back down." Joe whispered over his shoulder.

Barry smiled and nodded. She'll be here he reassured himself for the hundredth time in the last two seconds.

Just as Barry grew weary of waiting and placed one step forward to speed up and check in. Barry's heart immediately stopped. It's as if the whole world around him slowed to almost a stop. Through the intimate glow of the candle light Barry caught a glimpse of Caitlin coming down the stairs. As she approached the door, her arm securely locked around Cisco's arm, her face loosely hidden behind a thin lace vail, Barry's heart soared.

It was as if the world around him were a dream. As the stream of soft music began to play lightly around the air, Caitlin began her descent down the aisle. Barry couldn't contain his happiness as a tear spilled down his cheek. With his hearting raging against his chest Barry took a deep breath.

As the distance closed between them, Barry couldn't take his eyes off her. Reaching out, he took her hand in his and bringing her up next to him. Barry waited until Cisco moved around them.

"So is everyone ready?" Cisco said raising his brows before Caitlin and Barry.

Barry looked over to Caitlin, who nodded and he smiled.

"Okay. So friends and family Barry and Caitlin have come together today before their loved ones and family to being their new chapter of their lives together. I was very fortunate to have been asked to officiate this union. And let's be honest… because we face many bad people often with meta powers and don't know when our meta alert will buzz off we will keep this short and sweet."

"Is that your version of short?" Barry whispered.

A sudden rapture of laughter echoed through the air.

"Ha… as I was saying… vows…"

"Okay… Every day we make our lives out of chaos… hope and love and from the moment I meet you I was yours. I believe it when people say, you'll find love when you least expect it… because I found you. Cait, you are my everything. Without you I'm not whole. I'm lucky to say that I've been struck by lightning twice both times have brought me the best things in my life. I promise you that I will be right by your side as you best friend, you hero, you lover, your husband and your soul mate. I promise to love you every day your life. I love you Cait. Always."

"Oh the feels! Oh my god so sorry. Caitlin your turn."

"Barry… Before you I had known love. And after everything that happened I thought I'd never find love again. For a long time my heart stopped. Until you. You opened up my heart to more love I never knew was possible. To say we had the most easiest journey would be an massive understatement but it was all worth it, for us to get to where we are today. Every day I grow more and more in love with you. You are my best friend and the love of my life. I promise you that I will be right by your side as your best friend, your rock, your lover, your wife and your soul mate. I promise I will be there for you in life as the person you can lean on so that neither one of us falls. With all my heart I love you Barry. Always."

"Now the rings." Cisco indicated to Joe and Iris.

Barry turned for a brief moment as Joe pulled out a silver band from his inner suit pocket, placing gently in the centre of Barry's palm.

"Now Barry do you take Caitlin to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forth, through sickness and health, to death do you part?"

"I do." Barry vowed as the slide the ring perfectly onto her finger.

Barry waited, his heart still beating violently in his chest as Caitlin picked up the ring from Iris.

"And Caitlin… do you take Barry aka the Flash to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forth, through sickness and health, to death do you part?"

"I do." She cried as she slipped a thicker band of white gold on to his left hand.

"By the power vested in me in the City of Central I pronounce you husband and wife. Barry I can see your eager so go ahead bro and kiss your girl!" Cisco bellowed raising his hands in celebration.

Barry didn't have to wait to be told, he was already half way of removing her veil when he grabbed her by the face and planted a kiss on her mouth. He felt as her lips melted against his, her arms wrapping around his neck, pulling herself closer to him. Breaking a part slightly, hearing the roars of applause and whistling around them, Barry place a hand at the back of her head, a cheeky grin on his face and in one smooth motion Barry pulled Caitlin down into a dip. Smiling widely he leaned back down slowly and kissed her with a gentle passion.

"I love you Mrs Allen." He whispered against her lips and he drew her back up onto both feet.

"I love you too… Mr Allen." She teased.

And in that small window of bliss, the sudden vibrations of everyone's phones pulled them back into the reality of their alternate lives.

"Told ya'll short and sweet." He shouted.

While everyone laughed, Joe froze for a moment as he read a missed message on his phone.

"Joe what's up?"

"Turtle. He's got Patty."

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

* _S.T.A.R Labs*_

"Hey is Patty okay?"

"Yeah she is." He breathed out as he walked back in kissing her on the forehead.

Caitlin smiled leaning into his torso as he massaged her shoulders.

"How you feeling?" he whispered, kneeling down so he was looking up at her from where she sat.

"Tired." She yawned.

"Okay let me get changed. My place or yours?"

"Let's go home."

* * *

* _Moments later*_

By the time they reached their new home, most of the candles had extinguished and a few that remained casted just enough lighting to set the mood. As Barry locked the door behind them, he pulled himself up behind her, wrapping his arms around her cradling her to his body.

"So Mrs Allen, shall we get some rest?" he said kissing her hair.

Caitlin didn't reply. She turned around in his arms, snaking her own around his neck. She reached up and planted a chaste kiss on his lips before pulling away slowly.

"I don't think I'm tired anymore." She teased.

Caitlin saw the moment, as Barry's eyes intensified with fire. She could see the desire that burned equally in her own.

"So what do you want to do?" he teased back.

Opening her mouth to answer, Barry took the opportunity, grabbing either side of her face, crashing his mouth with hers, with her mouth already open he let his tongue slip inside.

Barry began to walk her backwards towards the stairs up towards the bedroom, their mouths never leaving each other. Both of them hungry… both in need for one another. Pausing, Caitlin pushed herself away from him. Staggering back, she moved away from the stairs backwards back towards the living room, scattered with petals and burning candle light. With each step she took she began to undress herself slowly, her eyes interlocked with his.

In slow strides, Barry followed willingly after her. His steps purposeful and slow. Standing half naked in the middle of the room, Barry extended out his hand, his touch teasing as he slid them across her side, around her waist. His touch electrifying her. In one swift moment, he pulled her against him, his lips once more on hers. Tipping her head back, he deepened their kiss. Their tongues dancing in slow motion as the continued to explore each other's bodies.

Slowly their movements pulled them down to the floor. Caitlin lay with her on the floor, her legs curled around his waist, pulling him closer to her. With more passion and heat, Barry slipped his tongue further into her mouth. With her hands in his hair, Barry slid his hands up to hers, pushing them down beside her, his fingers interlocking with hers, their rings shining in the glow of the warm candle light.


	10. Always With You

**_Enjoy my lovely people! Let me know what you think... Peace out :)_**

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

Caitlin woke up with the mid-afternoon light shining at full force in her face. Squinting, Caitlin turned around in Barry's arms finding him soundly asleep next to her. She smiled widely as she watched him breath. With the warmth of the sun, heating up exposed back, Caitlin reached out touching his face softly, her eyes catching the silver band glinting brightly in the sun. She let the memories of last night fill he mind.

"Good morning… wife." Barry whispered with his eyes still shut.

Caitlin smiled, reaching up and kissing him squarely on the lips.

"Good morning husband." She murmured back.

Just as she was about to lean back, Barry pulled her back to him his lips smashing against hers. Without hesitation, Caitlin opened her mouth feeling as Barry's tongue danced along with hers in a passionate fire. In one swift movement, Caitlin rolled herself on top of him so that she was straddling him, their mouths never breaking a part.

Caitlin felt as the corner of Barry's lips pulled up into a grin. Pulling away she teased him, kissing his neck… his chest before stopping abruptly.

She rested her chin on his chest as she peered up at him through her long lashes.

"I'm happy." She breathed.

Barry didn't need to say anything; instead he smiled as he reached down pulling her up to him, kissing her softly on the lips.

"I love you too." He smiled against her lips his eyes still closed.

Caitlin fell back against his chest, his fingers tangling themselves in her hair. She wasn't sure how long they laid there but she knew she didn't want to leave his arms. And just like that, it was if the world was listening in and pushed hard against them, both their phones began to buzz incessantly somewhere in their pockets across the room.

Feeling Barry exasperated, she knew he too felt the annoying weight of their lives intruding on their moment of bliss.

Scrabbling for the rest of the sheet wrapped half way around them, Caitlin covered herself as Barry hopped back into his underwear. Caitlin scoured over the living room for her clothes, hoping to find her phone tossed somewhere between them and the floors scattered all over the ground.

* * *

* _Pipeline*_

Throwing her hair over her shoulder, Caitlin knelt down beside the body closely examining it.

"He better not be pulling a Juliet!" Cisco blurted feeling a bit on edge from the morbid scene in front of them.

Caitlin glared over at Cisco from over her shoulder.

"Yeah that's right I see plays." He shrugged defensively.

"He's dead Cisco." Caitlin grumbled a little agitated for their morning phone call.

"How did this happen?" Harry pressed seemingly confused.

"Preliminary brain scan shows an acute brain aneurism." Caitlin explained as she examined the body a little more closely.

"The night we captured him. How's that for timing." Jay spat accusingly towards Harry.

"What does that mean? You think I did this Garrick?" Harry responded defensively.

Caitlin saw as Jay threw Harry an stern look.

"This man was the key to stopping Zoom. The key for getting my daughter. Why would I want that?"

"I never understood why you did anything Harry." Jay responded rolling his eyes looking away.

"That's fine with me Garrick-" Harry began to shout.

"Guys look we need to figure out a way to stop Zoom. Everything we've tried so far has failed. We need to start thinking outside the box. I mean we haven't even figured out a way to close the breaches yet. Maybe that's where we should start." Barry interrupted before things got out of hand.

"That's a great idea. I'll get on that." Harry seethed, storming out of the room without a second glance back over his shoulder.

"I'll help." Cisco mumbled under his breath following Harry out of the pipeline.

Caitlin pulled herself up, tearing off he gloves she walked out of the cell and towards Barry. She waited as Barry lifted his eyes off his phone.

"I've got to head into the CCPD. I'll check in with you guys later." He whispered, nodding at Jay before wrapping a hand around Caitlin's waist, pulling her towards him and quickly kissing her on the lips.

Pulling apart, Caitlin opened her eyes to have Barry rushing out in a flash. With the subtle grumble of Jay behind her, Caitlin turned around with a concerned expression.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Every time you think that Wells is on your team something happens that makes you doubt it." He replied staring off into the distance with his arms crossed firmly across his chest.

Caitlin didn't know how to respond. Instead she offered him a small smile.

"Hey Jay…" she mumbled biting down on her bottom lip.

"Yeah." He paused to look at her.

"Why didn't you tell me that you're sick?" she asked her voice soft and hesitant.

"How?... the champagne." He sighed.

"I wanted to run an analysis on your blood to see what we could do to try and get your speed back some other way." She blurted out apologetically.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because there's nothing you can do. And trust me I've run every test you're probably already thinking of. And the only way to cure me is by getting my speed back." He huffed out.

"By stopping Zoom." She stated with understanding.

"Right. And while everyone tries to do that, please don't say anything. Please." He begged, his eyes looking deep into hers.

Caitlin didn't know why the sudden piercing of his gaze made her a little uncomfortable but she pushed them aside. Jay was her friend. But deep down somewhere in her subconscious there was just something more to the way he looked at her and because she trusted him… the team trusted him, she ignored the feeling of uneasiness.

"Okay." She promised.

"Thank you."

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

As Barry left to head to CCPD, an alert from Cisco about an attack at Mercury labs, Barry immediately speed back to S.T.A.R Labs into his suit before rushing over to Mercury labs. Skidding to a halt outside the building, Barry took a beat as he scanned up the building his eyes dropping as a sea of screaming employees trampling over each other as they came pouring out of the building's glass doors. Barry took a deep breath before speeding through the building hitting each floor one by one until he came to screeching halt.

As the slow motion of the room came to full speed, the realization of the person before him came slamming into him, knocking the air out of his lungs.

"FLASH!" his voiced echoed with aged hatred.

"Eobard Thwane." Barry stammered a taken back.

"You know who I am?" he shifted surprised.

"YOU DIED!" Barry shouted in recoil.

"Good to know." Thawne smiled.

"And guess what Flash... I know what time period you're from. So that means very soon… you will die." He laughed before facing forward in such speed Barry didn't have time to react before the pain of Thawne's fist making contact with the side of his face was already pulsing under his skin.

Just as Barry regained his footing and picked himself off the floor, he was gone. Dr McGee was gone too.

Barry stood paralysed looking around him. _What the hell just happened?_

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

 _*S.T.A.R Labs*_

Caitlin was hovering over Barry's shoulder as he leaned his head in his hands. Unable to find the right words to console him, Caitlin stood by him, her chin rested upon his shoulder as she held him.

"You okay Bar?" Joe asked warily.

"I'm good. It's just a lot." Barry breathed out truthfully.

Caitlin kissed Barry's shoulder as she gave his arm a gentle squeeze and left his side to sit behind the computer facing him and the rest of the team.

"Eddie Thawne died so Eobard Thawne should have been erased out of existence right?" Joe said scratching his head in utter confusion.

There was a brief moment when everyone just looked from one another, not sure of how Thawne could still be alive. And what seemed like a lengthy pause, Harry's voice piped up from behind her.

Startled at the sudden sound amongst the intense silence, Caitlin spun her body around towards him.

"Not necessarily. It was possible Eobard Thawne was in the speed force. Protecting him like a bomb shelter. Keeping him alive in this timeline and intact this is known as a timeline remnant. " he explained.

"A what now?" Joe gaped open mouthed.

"Wait, here let me show you."

Caitlin watched as the rest of the team's attention followed Harry closely. Harry moved over towards one of the many clear boards they had scattered though out the room and began to re-explain his theory more simply.

"Okay this… This is now." He paused pointing to the circle he drew in the middle of the board.

"Here. Today…

"This is the time Thawne comes from." He continued with another circle.

"This is the moment you erased him from existence." Caitlin watched as he drew a third one.

"And since Thawne is from the future… this is where his timeline begins. That's why he's still alive. This Thawne has not yet travelled back in time to kill Barry's mother. He's here now, in this time period for the first time. Timeline remnant." He finished with a lengthy breath out.

"Explains why nothing's changed." Cisco whispered.

"And also explains why he didn't know my name or that _we_ have met before." Barry said crossing his arms firmly across his chest.

"To him you hadn't not until the future." Harry explained.

"So if Thawne dies before he can time travel again… will that save Barry's mother?" Joe pressed.

Eager to know the answer, Caitlin's attention immediately snapped back over to Harry who looked gloomily over back to Barry.

"No. It's not how it works. In our timeline Barry's mother is already dead. It is a fixed point and nothing can change that." He whispered flatly.

Caitlin's heart broke as she saw the faint hope in Barry's eyes distinguish.

"Well I'm going to end this. _Him._ In this time once and for all." Barry said straightening up.

"Let's find Dr McGee then we can figure out what do about Thawne okay? I got to go check on Iris." Joe nodded before making his departure.

"Ramon." Harry indicated.

Caitlin watched as everyone slowly trickled out of the room. With so much going on, Caitlin almost forgot how to breathe. Biting down on her bottom lip she stared absentmindedly in front of her lost in her own thoughts.

"Hey Caitlin I know you're worried about Dr McGee but we're going to get her back." Barry whispered reaching out and taking her hand in his.

Blinking, Caitlin turned to face up at him, returning his gentle squeeze with a small smile.

"I know we will." She breathed out.

"Then what's wrong?"

"We have another problem… it's Jay." She confessed.

"What about Jay?"

"He's sick and it's getting worse. When Zoom stole his speed it affected him on a cellular level. We need to do something about it."

"Alright… like what?" Barry asked his brows creasing in concern.

"I think we should replace he's dying cells with healthy ones indistinguishable from his." Caitlin suggested.

"How? How do we do that?"

"We find his earth one doppelgänger." She said.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

 _*Barry's Lab*_

With the rest of the team working on tracking down the Reverse Flash, Barry took Caitlin over to CCPD, to work towards finding Jay's doppelgänger, and in hopes in finding a bit of time besides themselves away from the team while they did so.

Bent over his desk, scouring through the CCPD's facial recognition software, Barry was turning up empty. _How could there not be another Jay Garrick on their Earth?_ He could seem to find a reasonable explanation for it. _Everyone has a doppelganger._

"The facial recognition software at S.T.A.R Labs didn't find anything either." Caitlin sighed as she stopped herself from pacing up and down his lab.

"No, but there's still more databases to check. We find his doppelganger." He reassured her, placing his hands on either side of her waist Barry pulled Caitlin into him before snaking his arms around her interlocking his fingers, cradling her body into his.

"Thanks." She whispered her voice soft.

"You don't need to thank me."

"I know but with everything I know you're going through, you didn't really need to do this now."

"Cait—" Barry began.

"Oh sorry guys didn't mean to interrupt. Oh hey Caitlin." Patty's voice interrupted.

Feeling Caitlin pull away, Barry untangled his fingers releasing her, as she turned her back towards him greeting Patty.

"Hi." She smiled.

Barry ruffled his hair as an exchange of awkwardness passed through the air.

"Um can we talk?" Patty called looking past Caitlin to him.

Barry glanced uncomfortably between Caitlin and back to Patty before agreeing.

"Um yeah." He shrugged.

With another brief pause, Barry took the moment, grabbing Caitlin's hand and gently spinning her around to face him.

"I'll see you later. I love you." He whispered before leaning down and kissing her quickly on the lips.

"Love you too." She replied her lips only inches from his.

"I'll let you know what I find."

"Thank you." She smiled before turning around and began to walk out.

"See you Patty." She waved as she manoeuvred her way around her.

Barry waited until Caitlin was gone before turning his attention to Patty.

"Hey what's up?" he sighed as he leaned back on his desk.

"Oh I didn't mean to interrupt. I'm sorry… I didn't know you guys… um that you finally got married." She apologized before rushing to congratulate him.

"Yeah… we did. Last night." He replied unable to control the sheepish grin spreading wide across his face as he revelled in the memory of the happiest moment of his life.

"Congratulations." She smiled her eyes dropping to her feet.

"Thanks… Um was there something you needed?" Barry asked.

"Caitlin works for S.T.A.R Labs doesn't she?" Patty probed seemingly off topic.

Barry looked at Patty with a weird expression.

"Um yeah why?" he replied slowly, unsure where this conversation was heading.

"It's nothing I probably shouldn't be telling you this but A LOT of weird stuff happens over there." She laughed lightly.

Barry was taken a bit on edge. Crossing his arms across his chest defensively her tried to change the subject.

"Wh—what? Um is that what you wanted to tell me? I'm guessing it's not about questioning the reputation of where my _wife_ works?" He said firmly.

"Oh no sorry… I just wanted to tell I'm leaving." She smiled warily at him, peering up at him through her lashes waiting for his reaction.

Barry relaxed slightly.

"Oh why?" he questioned slightly confused as to why she would be telling him.

Barry saw the disappointment in her eyes for a flicker of a moment before she seemed to regain her composure.

"I got into the CSI training program in another city." She answered proudly.

"Congratulations." Barry congratulated.

"Thank you. I just thought I'd let you know… and I wanted to personally thank you for everything you've done for me. Like talking to Det. West about me joining the meta task force and everything."

"It was nothing. You worked hard for it." He said humbly.

"I know but I wanted to say thank you." She thanked again stepping forward.

Barry shifted his weight uneasy as Patty leaned forward and kissed him quickly in the cheek.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Good luck." He smiled a bit weirded out.

Patty smiled shyly before turning away quickly. Just as her back was turned to him, Barry let out a deep breath and just as Barry could begin to wrap his head around what just happened, Patty stopped dead in her tracks turning back to face him.

"You've got a kind heart Barry. She's lucky to have you."

Those were her final words before she left.

Barry was dumbfounded, he couldn't comprehend where that just came from.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

 _*S.T.A.R Labs*_

Dropping her bag on her desk in a fluster, Caitlin jolted around the desk towards Cisco.

"I was on my way back when I got your message. Dr McGee is dead?" she stuttered in disbelief.

Just then Barry came speeding in with a sense of urgency. His glazed over the team to Caitlin and back to Cisco.

"Harry and I were trying to hone in on my powers to find Zoom and then we ended up using them to find the Reverse Flash and that's when I saw him kill her. And then he left." He said fast and defensively feeling a bit cornered by the imposing stare of everyone in the room.

"HE LEFT? What do you mean he left?" Barry pressed eagerly.

"McGee built him some kind of speed machine and he ran into it and got flung back into the future." Cisco described.

"Well you'd need superluminal energy to send someone through time." Harry pointed out.

"Like you mean…" Barry started.

"Tacions." Barry and Harry recalled at the exact same time.

"Wait we can track their location once they've been activated… anything?"

"Nothing." Caitlin sighed as she scanned over the city for any sign of tacion activity.

"Cisco you sure that's what you saw?" Barry interrogated more urgently.

"Positive." He nodded confidently.

"Alright." Barry exasperated.

"What else did you see?" Harry asked.

"There was all sorts of weird tech everywhere… there was a clock…" Cisco mumbled trying to recall the vision.

"What time did the clock say?"

"9.52 I think." Cisco shrugged.

"How do you think that's relevant?" Cisco continued confused.

"It's 6.00 now." Harry stated a matter of fact.

In that moment, Caitlin flinched back startled as Cisco flung out of his chair in an absurd fastness, his locked onto Harry.

"Are you telling me I can see the future?" he stuttered wide eyed.

"That's what exactly I'm telling you." Harry relayed unfazed.

"Those goggles are getting named immediately." Cisco beamed loudly.

"Well that means Dr McGee is alive." Barry sighed a breath of relief as he turned towards Caitlin with a hopeful smile.

"Yeah that's right."

"Well that means we have 3 hrs and 52 minutes to find her and stop Reverse Flash. Let's do it!" Barry with eager enthusiasm.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

"No sign of tacion activity." Cisco sighed.

"We're running out of time we got to find them!" Barry stated loudly, feeling as though his heart was beating so hard against his chest.

"It will take a few minutes for the device to reach full power once it's activated. Once we find it you're going to have to get there fast!" Cisco explained.

Barry nodded knotting his hands though his hair. Barry dropped his hands as soon as felt the warmth of her hands graze up and down his upper arm.

"Come on let's get some air." She whispered.

Barry turned around in her hands, nodding he grabbed both his and her coat from the back of the chair following her up to the roof.

As the door shut behind them, Barry offered Caitlin her coat, helping her into in before shrugging himself into his own.

Slipping his hand into hers, he closed his eyes for a moment taking a deep breath feeling as the rush of cold air into his lungs relaxed the tension in his body.

"How you holding up?" She said her voice soft and light.

Barry peeled his eyes open slowly; Caitlin was now standing inches from him, her eyes searching his for signs that he was okay.

"Honestly… I don't know. I just know that we have to find her."

"We will." She said squeezing his hand.

"We're just running out of time. _She's_ running out of time!" Barry burst out in sudden frustration.

Unable to look Caitlin in the eye, Barry's eyes drooped to the ground.

"Hey… hey…" Caitlin cooed, taking either side of his face into her hands, begging him to look up at her.

"I get it. But you got to believe in the team… in yourself. We'll get her back. I know it."

Barry looked into her eyes. She did believe it. And her optimism gave him hope. Nodding, he wrapped his arms around her pulling her into a tight embrace. He just needed to be in her arms.

Releasing his grip Barry pulled away kissing her gently on the forehead.

"Hey Barry…" she whispered leaning her head against his chest, her arms still wrapped around his torso, both of them looking out onto the city.

"Yeah…"

"Have you found out anything else on Jay's doppelgänger?" she asked.

"Sorry, there is no Jay Garrick on this Earth." Barry sighed regretfully.

"That's so weird everybody has a doppelgänger."

Barry felt as Caitlin's face scrunched up in curiosity and confusion. Leaning away, Barry turned to face her, his expression soft.

"Maybe just ask Jay. He's a good guy. I'm sure if you ask him he'll tell you."

"Yeah… you're right." She smiled back before returning to lean back into his chest.

With the clank of the metal door opening up behind them, Barry spun around seeing Joe, bent over trying to catch his breath.

"That's a long way up." He pointed distractedly back down the way he came.

"Hey what's up?" Barry smiled trying not to laugh.

"We got a problem… Patty knows you're the Flash!" he heaved still trying to breathe properly.

"WAIT WHAT?" Barry exclaimed.

"I'll wait for you guys down stairs." Caitlin said before leaving the two of them alone on the roof top.

Barry watched as Caitlin closed the door behind her.

"She caught me off guard… I mean I played it off but come on. She's a smart girl and she was going through some case files and you were acting all squirrelly." Joe explained raising his hands mid-way in the air defensively.

"This is my fault now?" Barry recoiled stepping back a little offended.

"It's nobody's fault." Joe corrected immediately.

Barry spun around. How could things get so much more complicated in such a small amount of time?

"Oh my god." Barry huffed out under his breathe.

"Maybe you should tell her." Joe suggested.

"No. I can't." Barry replied flatly.

"Patty not trustworthy?"

"It's got nothing to do with that Joe. There are enough people who know my secret. Enough people that Zoom… the Reverse Flash could hurt. It's not fair to her." Barry responded with his head drawn down to the ground as he thought about what he was going to do.

And if Barry didn't things couldn't get more disturbingly complicated, his phone alerted him to an update.

Excusing himself, Barry sped down back to the cortex, re-joining the rest of the team.

"Tacions! 87th and Avenue J" Cisco informed almost immediately.

Without a word Barry flashed into his suit and raced out towards the location. Feeling the wind and power rush past him as he sped further ahead, Barry felt his mind clear to find a sense of clarity so that he'd be able to focus singularly on the mission a head. _Rescue Dr McGee and stop the Reverse Flash once and for all._

"Barry, hurry up!" Cisco's voice echoed though the ear piece in the suit.

"OMG he's going to kill her!" Caitlin cried, the sound of her voice tense and panicked.

With the intensity of the time running against him, Barry pushed him further speeding in just in time to rush the doctor out of the hand of death.

"You okay? Yeah get out of here. GO! GO!" He yelled just as he sped towards the speed canon, disabling it before the Reverse Flash could react.

"NO! That was my way home!" He cried, the anger rushing to his cheeks.

"You're not going anywhere!" Barry seethed.

"You haven't won here Flash! I'll find another way to get home." He spat confidently.

"You'll have to get through me first!"

"You really think you're fast enough to beat me?!" He laughed.

"I know I am!"

"Well let's find out!"

"Oh it's on!"

In the next second Barry found himself once again hunting after the man that murdered his mother. His worst enemy was always a step ahead of him. But experience had taught Barry differently. Changing his direction Barry managed to get ahead of him.

"Get him Bar!" Cisco encouraged.

Catching up to him, Barry rushed with force, using his body and slamming Thawne inside an abandoned building. Both of them crashing to the floor in the next second. A spike of pain, Barry pulled himself up faster. Picking Thawne from the ground he threw him across the room and in a split second all the pain, the hurt and anger for this man came flooding back in uncontrollable waves. Barry held Thawne up against a wall, his grip tightening.

"You're not fast enough Thawne. I will never lose to you again. This war between us ends now!" Barry scorned as he threw multiple punches to his body.

"Barry you got to stop! Don't kill him just bring him in!" Joe yelled over the coms.

But Barry couldn't hear him. In the back of his mind all he could see was his mother dying. His mother calling out for him, Joe's voice just became a distant echo as he let his anger out. But then with just her voice she was able to bring him back to himself.

"BARRY!" Caitlin pleaded.

Barry stopped. His breathing heavy and ragged. He could see clearly again.

"Get the cell ready!" he breathed out as he looked over a limp body.

* _Back at S.T.A.R Labs*_

"Hey he can't…" Joe began unable to finish so instead created vibrating motions with his hands.

"Faze he's way out no he can't do that." Cisco assured his facial expressions weirded out by Joe's actions.

"It's the same cell we used to hold the other Dr Wells last year." Caitlin informed him.

"Bar where you going?" Joe said stepping in his way.

"I'm going down there!" he shouted, taking offence to such an absurd question being asked.

"No you're not. The more he learns about you the more he can alter the timeline." Harry objected, siding himself beside Joe.

"He killed my mom!" Barry cried, his heart still burdened with the anger and hurt he thought he'd learned to let go.

"He hasn't done that yet. He doesn't even know that you're the Flash and you need to keep it that way." Harry explained firmly.

"You already said that he's going to kill his mother anyway and there's nothing we can do about it." Barry reverberated Harry's own words.

"Ramifications. Anytime anyone messes with the timeline and it is impossible to predict what those ramifications will be." Harry pressed.

Barry threw his hand in his hair in frustration. He couldn't believe that he was living through this again. He just couldn't. Frustrated, Barry closed his eyes willing himself to take a few deep breaths to try and calm him down.

"Barry you already caught him and you stopped him from killing Dr McGee. In my book that's a win." Caitlin encouraged with a warm smile.

Barry knew that she was trying to console him in the fact that they caught him. That he couldn't hurt anyone else. Looking at her, he knew she was right _but why did it feel so wrong?_ He just couldn't seem to understand. He thought he made peace with it, but knowing that no matter what he did; Thawne was always going to be there. He was always going to be a part of his life whether he liked it or not. And he hated it. Shaking his head, Barry excused himself.

"This doesn't feel like a win. I'm going to go and get changed." He said his voice resigned and low.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

With so many problems hitting them at every front, Caitlin decided to take Barry's advice and ask Jay up front about his doppelgänger. Even though right now this is the last place she wanted to be, she knew Barry needed a little space for him to breathe and to think. She didn't know what he was going through, she did understand his pain and the anger he feels, so she knew that even if he didn't know it himself, he just needed time.

Waiting, anxiously by herself, Caitlin busied herself drinking her coffee as she waited for Jay to arrive.

With a chime of the bell above the door, Caitlin automatically turned around to what random stranger came in. She Jay towering over the crowd looking for her. She put up her hand and gave a gentle wave to get his attention. Seeing her, relaxed down and headed his way over to her. Caitlin spun back around in her seat waiting for him to take his.

"So what did you want to talk about?" he smiled as he slid onto the stool.

Caitlin took a beat. She was deciding how to approach the subject. They had once before so she knew there was no easy way to lean into the conversation so she took a deep breath and jumped in.

"My dad a multiple sclerosis. Every day for _years_ I watched this amazingly strong man fight for his life. And lose. So I can't sit by and watch someone else I know fight for his life and not do something about it. I tried to find your doppelgänger. Same DNA same cellular structure… I could replace your dying cells with he's living ones. But you don't have a doppelgänger on this earth." She blurted out afraid that if she didn't say it all in one go, she could never talk about her pain for her father.

"Caitlin there's a good explanation. Meet me at Hoffer Park tomorrow and I'll show you." He smiled warmly.

Caitlin was feeling slightly impatient. With everything going on around them, did they really have time to visit a park? But helping Jay resonated with her, so if visiting a park was what she needed to do to get some answers and help save Jay… then she was going to do it.

"Why can't you just tell me?" Caitlin pressed.

"Because you need to see for yourself." Was all he said before picking up his coffee and leaving her to herself.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

With the rest of the team preoccupied and Caitlin out of S.T.A.R Labs, Barry seized the opportunity to sneak down to the pipeline. Hidden in the shadows Barry opened the metal door. His eyes burning as he stared into the eyes of his mother's killer.

"Is that _you…_ Flash?" Thawne's voice called out.

Barry took a breath.

"Why do you hate me so much?"

It took a moment before the Reverse Flash responded. His eyes darting around trying to seek him out. Barry saw as a smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth.

"I didn't always. I was obsessed with you. For so long I wanted to be the Flash. I spent years figuring out how you came to be… duplicated the reaction and it worked. Ha ha ha! I became like you." He recalled.

"So what happened?" Barry asked his voice strained and determined.

"Ability to travel through time revealed the truth. My fate was to become your greatest enemy. I was never going to be the Flash. So I became the reverse of everything you ever were. The more people that you saved the more that you were loved… the more I had to take from you." He laughed.

"That's why you killed my mother. That's why you ruined my life… because YOU COULDN'T BE ME?" Barry yelled his voice rising as he spoke.

"I BECAME BETTER THAN YOU! I AM THE ONE THING YOU COULDN'T STOP FLASH!" He spat, punching the thick glass wall.

Barry couldn't move.

"No, no not anymore. Our race is over. And you lost." Barry said shaking his head.

"I've learned what time period your from Flash. And one day soon I'll learn your name." he smiled coyly.

Opening his mouth to speak, Caitlin's voice suddenly echoed through the p.a system. Something seemed off by her voice. Sensing their urgency Barry closed the door on the Reverse Flash without a seconds glance back and flashed back into the cortex.

"We need you in the cortex NOW!"

Speeding a complete stop. All he saw was chaos. Caitlin was running up and down the med bay, her fingers speeding across the keyboard of her computer as she examined data then back towards her medical supplies.

"What's happening?" Barry injected as he joined in on the crowded room.

He didn't need for an answer because just as he stepped into the room, he saw his best friend, Cisco lying semi unconscious on the bed, shaking uncontrollably.

"He's experiencing an uncontrollable amount of electrical energy in his brain putting him in a prolonged state of chronic seizing." Caitlin explained as she tried urgently to find something.

Barry stood by the foot of the bed, trying to help hold Cisco in place.

"Wha-what… can you stop it?" He pleaded with Caitlin.

"I don't know." She said shakily as she scurried through the room looking for an antidote.

"HOLD HIM DOWN!" Harry shouted.

"We're trying!" Joe replied worried.

"Sedate him Snow NOW!" Harry proposed.

In that moment, Caitlin came around them, pushing everyone aside she pulled out a large needle.

"Benzodiazepine… that should do it." She whispered as she stabbed Cisco hard in the leg.

Barry didn't release his grip until Cisco stilled.

"Finally!" Joe huffed out in relief.

Barry couldn't agree. Stumbling back, Barry caught sight of Caitlin, her head slightly bent down, her eyes closed as she exasperated a deep breath.

"AHHH!" Caitlin screamed.

"What the?" Joe stuttered frightened.

"What was that?" Barry leaped forward, watching as Cisco faded.

"What the hell is going on? Where am I?" Cisco panicked as he weaved in and out between existence.

"CISCO?" Barry called out.

"It's the timeline." Harry pointed out, struggling to keep Cisco still.

"What? What are you talking about!?" Barry stammered panicked and confused.

"When... when you captured Reverse Flash we rupture the timeline that's what this… all the blood and the seizures and the and the … all the… Cisco is being affected to the... by the changes to the timeline. The changes of the past and the changes of the present. This is what it is. We need to do something and we need to do it fast!" Harry yelled out an explanation.

"LIKE WHAT?" Joe shouted his voice tense.

"We need to restore the timeline… Barry _YOU_ need to get the Reverse Flash and send him back to the future as quickly as possible!"

"WHAT?!" Barry exclaimed.

"Barry…" Caitlin approached him gently, her voice light but tense.

"I JUST CAUGHT HIM AND YOU WANT ME TO LET HIM GO?!" Barry gasped, stepping back feeling as the world had suddenly began to collapse around him.

"HE'S KILLING CISCO!" Harry pointed out.

"I..." Barry choked.

Looking at his best friend he was torn. Ultimately he knew what he had to do but he just need a second to find the air to breathe. _He couldn't breathe._

"Barry if this is the only way we can save him you GOT TO DO IT! You got to let go of Thawne" Joe advised harshly.

"I can't... I look I destroyed the tacion drive in the speed machine there is no way it can reach the necessary speed for me to send him back home." Barry fumbled, not sure how he was going to send Thawne back and save Cisco.

He couldn't believe this was happening. How could he have let this happen?

"You can." Said Harry.

"What?" Barry looked from Cisco to Harry confused and disoriented.

"Your speed combined with Thawne's speed that will be enough to catapult him through the time continuum. You can do it."

Without another minute to think about it Barry agreed.

"Alright let's do it. Let's do it. Let's do it!"

* * *

* _Pipeline*_

Disguised in his suit, Barry stared at the Reverse Flash with an unmistakeable hatred for what he was about to do.

"I win again Flash." He teased smugly.

Barry cursed silently to himself, turning his back he strode over to Harry and Joe, their guns poised accurately at Thawne.

"All you got to do is provide him with enough to get him past the space time barrier." Harry instructed.

"Alright." Barry nodded.

"Hey listen to me. Thawne knows about you. Right here… right now. This is where he learns about you. All of you. This is how he knows about star labs… how he knows about me… Harrison Wells from this earth and there is nothing I can do about it. Nothing you can do about it. This is he's origin story and it's going to happen no matter what you do. But right here right now… you can send him back… back to his time... you can save your friend you can save Cisco and move on your life."

"This could be a good thing. You can let go of him." Joe encouraged.

"I could send him 3 centuries ahead of me and he'll always be a part of me." Barry said shaking his head.

He had to accept that nothing he did was going to rid Thawne from his life. Whether he liked it or not, they were forever intertwined.

"Time to send you back to where you belong." Barry muttered under his breath.

"We'll meet again soon Flash." Thawne smirked as he threw his mask back on.

"I know and every time I'll be ready for you." Barry whispered and in the next second they were off.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

Unwilling to leave Cisco's side while she was still running constant tests, Barry pleaded her to go and help Jay, promising to stick by his side until he was sure he was really okay. Reluctantly she agreed and drove down to Hoffer Park. Sitting alone at a bench Jay had requested they meet at; Caitlin welcomed the change of scenery, soaking in the rare autumn sun.

Not long after she sat down, Jay greeted her and sat himself beside her.

"I don't understand what we're doing here." Caitlin whispered as she looked around her.

"Just like you I thought that if I could find my doppelgänger on this earth I could replace my damaged cells with some of his healthy ones. Believe me I was just as shocked as you were when I couldn't find a Jay Garrick anywhere on this planet. Took me a while but I figured it out and eventually I found him." He explained.

Caitlin's attention snapped back to Jay as he said that. _He found him!_

"His name is hunter Zoloman." Jay added pointing across the park to an identical man reading a book quietly to himself.

"Zoloman? Why doesn't he have the same name as you?" Caitlin muttered softly, her brows scrunching up confused.

"From what I could gather his mother died during child birth… he bounced around from family to family but eventually he was adopted and raised by the Zoloman's." Jay explained.

"But why doesn't that mean he can't help you?" Caitlin pressed trying to understand.

"My DNA was mutated when I became a speedster. There's only one way to reverse what's happening to me. If we can catch Zoom I can get my speed back."

Caitlin sighed.

"Well let's find a way to do that." She chirped back up optimistically.

Sensing his hesitation, Caitlin reached out placing her hand on his for a brief moment.

After a minute, Caitlin pulled away, snaking her purse back over her shoulder.

"Well I should go. Barry's probably waiting for me at home." She smiled.

"Okay."

Returning him with a warm smile, Caitlin began to leave before pausing. Turning back over her shoulder she said.

"And don't worry Jay, we'll stop Zoom."

* * *

* _Barry & Caitlin's house*_

Walking up the front steps to her home, Caitlin still couldn't believe that she was married. After everything they'd been through, they finally made it. And she knew that together they could get though anything.

Pushing open the door to their home, Caitlin couldn't help but smiling.

"Barry? Babe I'm home." Her voice echoed throughout the empty space.

"Hey." Barry answered, approaching her from the living room.

"How's Cisco?" she asked, dropping her stuff on the ground by the door.

"He's good, back to his usual self." Barry smiled, pulling her into his arms.

"That's good." She sighed relieved.

"And Patty?" She asked looking up at him through her lashes.

"All sorted, Joe helped me explain things. How did it go with Jay? Did you find his doppelgänger?"

Caitlin took a moment before answering. Reaching up she interlocked her fingers around his neck as she looked up at him.

"Yeah we did, but unfortunately because he's a speedster, we'll need to stop Zoom to really help him."

"And we will." He promised.

"Barry…" she started hesitantly.

"Yeah."

"How you really feeling?"

"Better now that you're here." He whispered, leaning down and kissing her.

His lips were soft and gentle against hers. Being in his arms she truly felt at home.

"I think we should start bringing in furniture don't you think?" he murmured against her lips.

"Probably. I think we'd probably start with the bedroom." she teased as smile spreading across her face, before pulling him by the hand and leading him upstairs.


	11. Hope & Betrayal

**_So I've read over the my last update and OMG I have so many grammar errors. Don't worry once I've completed this season I will go over and fix them up but bear with me before then because let's be honest this chapter will also be filled with many literary errors. Hope you enjoy the story nonetheless and hopefully with the mistakes I'm sure to make its easy enough to understand._**

 ** _Peace out and enjoy :)_**

 ** _Some of you have asked if I'd be doing all seasons. Tbh I don't know. I have originally only thought about going as far a season two and have the final scene already written but with such an amazing storyline in season three there could be hope for me to continue. But as of now I'm unsure._**

 ** _And a shout out to DS Rider! Thanks for the heads up on the spelling because the spelling for the word has been annoying the hell out of me!_**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own the Flash nor its characters._**

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

As Barry sped through the night, he decided to the long way to S.T.A.R Labs as her felt the rush of power and wind make him run faster. Running along the semi deserted back way streets Barry couldn't help but thing of these lyrics to the song he likes… " _All the broken hearts in the world still beat. Mine's beating but bruised."_ Hopefully it wouldn't be for long. But after having no choice but to send back the Reverse Flash back to his time, he could help but feel a small ache in his chest. One thing he did know was that in time, things change.

"Well hey you're here late." Barry said surprised as he caught sight of Wells intently bent over his desk working.

Startled, Barry saw Harry flinch, springing out of his seat he turned to face Barry.

"As are you… should you be out doing whatever 26year olds do on a Thursday night." He shrugged off.

"I am recently married but my wife… Caitlin isn't feeling to well so she went to bed early and since I'm not spending my time building our house anymore I thought I'd tackle the breach problem and try and figure out how to close them. Looks like you had the same idea." He smiled pointing to the papers scatter across his desk.

"Right. I work better alone." Harry replied bluntly.

"Ah nah haven't you heard the expression two heads are better than one." Barry insisted as he entered further into the room to Harry's discomfort.

"No."

"Must be an Earth 1 thing." Barry shrugged his shoulders.

"You understand for me my Earth is Earth one." Harry responded clearly agitated by Barry's sudden presence.

"Yeah."

"Your Earth is yet to create c4o quark matter so it's taking too long to catch up on the science of it all… I'll do it by myself." He finished before turning his back to Barry.

"This science?" Barry said pointing towards a stack of books on the desk opposite Harry.

"Yes that science." He grunted.

"Watch this." Barry smiled cheekily as he picked up the book and began speed reading through the thousands of pages.

"That's annoying." Harry grumbled as he watched Barry absorb all the information from their pages.

"Okay I'm all caught up for the next 30 minutes give or take." Barry muttered blinking, his eyes slightly dry.

"Looks like I missed one." He stated as he moved over to Harry towards the table behind him.

Barry snapped his eyes up, slightly a taken back as Harry slammed his hand hard on the stack of papers he had been working on, causing him to come to an immediate stop.

"Okay you can help but I call the shots. Okay?" he agreed flatly.

"Okay." Barry backed away slowly, a bit concerned.

* * *

* _The next morning*_

As Barry arrived on scene, he couldn't resist but giving a massive yawn. Craning his neck from side to side, Barry tried to loosen up the muscles in his shoulder. Cursing himself under his breath Barry regretted falling asleep at S.T.A.R Labs last night.

"Hey you good?" Joe asked worried as he pulled up in front of Barry.

"Yeah just tired." Barry said taking a big swig at his coffee trying to wake himself up.

"What we got?" he asked, re-adjusting his kit on his shoulders.

"Victims name is Daniel Burgess. Not exactly a boy scout but managed to buy this garage 2 years ago. It looks like he's been dipped into a volcano."

Barry dropped his case, bending down he lifted the white sheet that covered the dead body.

"Woah yeah. Actually the dept hand uniform informed me of the burn pattern was like something you would see if the body was covered in something like lava but with like a lower burn temp and an added chemical characteristic." Barry stated as he looked over the scene with a curious expression.

"The fire investigator didn't find a secondary accelerant." Joe informed him, reading from his notes.

"Yeah he probably wouldn't with a meta. Alright I'm going to take a sample back to S.T.A.R Labs and have Cisco run some tests."

"Not Caitlin?" Joe asked curious.

"No, she's probably still at home. Has a stomach virus. She's been throwing up for the past two days." Barry explained.

"Oh okay well I'm going to meet Iris for lunch she wants to talk to me about Wally."

"Yeah how's that going you and him?" Barry asked genuinely.

"Great... oh good. I dunno… baby steps. I'm trying to give him space. I mean he just lost his mom… just met me and his sister. He's got a lot on his plate." Joe excused.

"Yeah he just found the best dad he could have ever wished for." Barry smiled encouragingly.

"You say that now but you didn't always think that." Joe laughed, pointing accusingly at Barry.

"You were pretty strict that's for sure." Barry nodded, laughing himself at his childhood memories.

"But strict isn't always a bad thing especially when you know it's coming from love." Barry added, patting his adoptive father on the shoulder.

Joe gave his son a grateful smile. "I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah." He waved.

* * *

 _*S.T.A.R Labs*_

Slinking back into the cortex after a very strange and tense conversation with Harry in the next room, Barry wondered distractedly back to the team.

"Hey I ran your crime scene sample 6 ways from Sunday- what's wrong with you?" Cisco beckoned towards Barry.

"I just—never mind its nothing what's up?" Barry muttered, brushing conversation to the back of his mind.

"Two things! Very strange. One definitely meta human cells in the oil." He started.

"And two he didn't die from his burns it was suffocation." Caitlin's voiced added as she walked in from the med bay.

Pulling her to his side, Barry kissed her gently on the corner of her forehead.

"Hey, you sure you should be here?" he whispered close to her ear, his voice concerned.

"Feeling much better." She smiled reassuringly before kissing him squarely on the lips.

"Okay." He nodded convinced, turning to Cisco he picked back up their conversation.

"Suffocation? That makes sense actually. The burns indicated that the body was covered in something."

"Cross referencing O2 levels in the organic matter and I found a direct match in the animals trapped and observed in an asphalt seep. The guy was fossilized." Cisco exclaimed surprised.

"Whoa so whoever killed him is like a walking…" Barry began before Cisco jumped in before he could finish.

"...Tar pit." They said together.

"Mmm… too slow. It's okay." He patted Barry sympathetically on the back of his shoulder.

Barry shook his head laughing.

"So basically he's drowning them in tar. God! That's a horror show. Why did he target Daniel Burges?" Caitlin pondered out loud.

"That's my metahuman social media app… yeah that's right. There's an attack in progress on 6th and Bell." He said smugly.

* * *

* _Back at S.T.A.R Labs, later that day*_

After he's run in with _Tar Pit,_ Barry floated around S.T.A.R Labs waiting for facial recognition to get a hit on their new meta.

"Alright Tar pit. Tar pit? That's what we're calling him?" Barry stammered, looking to Cisco from confirmation.

"Yeah that's right." Cisco nodded proudly.

"Okay well Tar Pit was after one Clay Stanley. Clay Stanley as it turns out is a suspected hit man that CCPD has been trying to track down for a while but they haven't been able to make anything stick." Cisco informed them.

Cisco laughs at himself. "No pun intended."

"Do we know why he was attacked?"

"I... Stanley wouldn't answer any of my questions he was pretty scared." Barry said.

"When a hit man is scared you know something is wrong." Cisco muttered his eyes drawing wide in exclamation.

"Yeah did you get an ID on our metahuman?"

"Yeah I'm running it through 5 different facial recognition systems right now. So it should take a minute." Cisco confirmed.

"And there it is! Who is the best hacker in the world people!?" Cisco exclaimed proudly as he turned back to his computed.

"Felicity Smoak." Barry and Caitlin said at the same time.

Barry saw as Cisco turned back around slowly, he faced them with a grim sadness on his face.

"Nah ah! What is wrong with you two? That ain't friendship." He said shaking his head clearly offended.

Holding back his laughter, a smile broke out on his face as he saw Caitlin rolled her eyes at Cisco's reaction.

"Our metahuman's name is Joseph Montelone." Caitlin read aloud, her eyes squinting narrowly at the screen in front of her as read.

"Oh he looks friendly." Cisco said sarcastically returning back to his computer once again.

"Montelone was reported missing a few months… surprise, surprise the night of the particle accelerator explosion." Barry huffed out.

"And what is the connection between Montelone and the two victims?" Caitlin raised the question.

"I'll call Joe and he can run background checks on all three guys." Barry sighed pulling out his phone, his fingers working quickly to dial Joe's number.

"Yeah and I'll run some tests on the tar samples to try and find his weakness." Caitlin added before walking out to her lab.

Ending the phone call with Joe, Barry shoved his phone back into his back pocket.

"Hey, you feeling okay?" Cisco whispered as he approached from behind.

"Yeah why?" Barry replied.

"You're going slower than normal you clocked in at fourteen hundred and fifteen miles an hour." Cisco mumbled concerned.

"I'm sorry how fast do I usually run?" Barry laughed shrugging off the worried look on his friends face.

"Fifteen hundred… are you getting enough to eat?" Cisco rambled as he reached out touching Barry's forehead, gaging his temperature.

"Yes, yes I'm fine. I probably got it off Caitlin she hadn't been feeling well the past couple of days. Plus fast is fast the difference doesn't sound so negligible." Barry excused as he squatted Cisco's hand away from his face.

"Yeah okay." Cisco muttered not entirely convinced.

* * *

* _A couple of hours later*_

"So I ran background checks on everyone involved in this Tar Pit mess… came up empty. I mean they all have records but they're sealed so can't read them." Joe informed the team as he arrived.

"That's because you're bound by ethics Detective West." Cisco stated, swivelling himself in front of his computer, his fingers already beginning to type across the board.

"How many felonies are we committing breaking into sealed court records?" Joe mumbled under his breath as he watched him from over his shoulder.

"Meh three or four…" he replied unfazed.

"Nope five." Cisco corrected himself as he opened the records and placing them up onto the screens around the room.

"Well they were sealed because all the records were juvenile offences." Barry stated as he began to read their sheets.

"They weren't arrested together." Barry sighed.

"No but look at this. They all served in the same juvenile detention facility. Actually Montelone and one of them were bunk mates." Cisco pointed out.

"Who do we have shacked up with vic 2?" Joe asked.

"Bronwen, Clark. Good luck finding him he has a ton of addresses and I can't seem to find anything current. I'll run his picture through facial recognition." Cisco mumbled.

"That won't be necessary. In this case I am facial recognition. I know exactly where we can find that guy. And dad you are not going to like how." Iris chimed in as she walked into the room.

"Okay you can tell me about it on the way. What is that?" Joe muttered ushering Iris out with him, but not before he got distracted by a very odd looking device Harry was carrying into the cortex.

"Breach implosion reactor." Harry answered a matter of factly.

"Sorry I asked." Joe mumbled, his expression showing he had no clue what the hell Harry had just said.

"You ready?" Harry said looking to Barry.

"Yeah. Let's do it." Barry nodded, grabbing his coat.

"Have fun fixing the universe you too." Cisco farewelled.

As Barry shrugged his arms into his jacket, he looked at Harry, noticing him nursing his shoulder.

"Hey Harry what's going on? Looks like you're in pain."

"No, no I have a… headache." He lied.

* * *

* _Breach 1/51*_

Shivering against the cold, Barry retreated further into his coat, seeking its warmth. Rubbing his hands together, brought them to his mouth, exhaling hot air in attempt to defrost his fingers.

"If our calculations are correct..." Harry began

"Which they are." Barry rectified confidently.

"Yes they are. When this device detonates it will collapse the event horizon on this side of the breach therefore shutting off any exit to Earth 2 permanently."

Between shifting his weight between his feet, Barry yawned in exhaustion as he waiting for Harry to make his final adjustments.

"You okay?" Harry paused, assessing Barry.

"Yeah I'm just a little tired. I'm not feeling like myself. But all good though." Barry replied shaking his head.

"Yep." Harry muttered under his breath.

"It's going to work." Barry reassured Harry, sensing his doubt.

"Okay you ready?" he said finally finished with the reactor.

"Yep give it to me." Barry said quickly eager to see if it'd work and more importantly to get out of the cold.

With the bomb in his hand, Barry took a steps forward towards the breach before the launching the reactor forward. For a split second there was nothing and then suddenly there was a reaction and the breach closed in a bright blue flash.

"Come on." Barry whispered waving Harry forward as he moved to where the breach was.

Outstretching his hands, Barry motioned his arms around. Nothing. They did it. The breach was closed.

Feeling hope rise in his chest, Barry jumped for joy. They were one step closer to stopping zoom. Launching himself to Harry in a brief on sided hug, Barry pulled away hitting Harry gently on the shoulder with a small nudge.

"Come on we just reverted the laws of physics crack a smile or something." He laughed joyously.

"I guess that was pretty cool." Harry grumbled distractedly.

"One down 51 more to go!" Barry whispered looking to where the breach once was.

"Allen…"

"Yeah?" Barry answered turning back around to face him.

"Thank you."

"This is just the first step to getting your daughter back." Barry smiled before making his way back to the van.

"Come on." Barry called out to Harry.

* * *

* _S.T.A.R Labs*_

Just as Barry was on his way back, Tar Pit had attacked an illegal street race down by the old power plant. Racing over, Barry was just in time to save Wally but as fast as he was something happened. He was much slower. And because of it Iris got hurt.

Staring at his suit, Barry couldn't help but blame himself. He just wasn't fast enough. Lost in blame, everyone's voices around him were drowned out into white noise.

"Don't worry. We're going to get him." Cisco assured him with a gentle pat on the back.

Blinking back into the present Barry, staggered back looking at his friend.

"I'm sorry dude… what?"

"Tar Pit… you shouldn't worry we'll get him with these." He replied, suddenly reaching forward, fumbling cautiously to catch whatever Harry just threw at him.

"With these _NITREOUS GRENADES_! Each of these has 10x the concentration of a hot rod's nitrous tank and it's triggered by extreme heat. We're talking about 650degrees. That's the boiling point of asphalt. So one of these puppies makes contact you've got a Tar pit popsicle for dessert!"

"Alright that's great." Barry nodded distractedly.

Taking a deep breath he looked towards Cisco and motioned him to the side to talk.

"Hey look maybe you were right I was feeling… slower tonight. I mean not by much but enough. Do you think there's something wrong with the suit maybe?" he whispered.

"That's unlikely." Harry answered abruptly before Cisco had the chance to open his mouth.

Barry straightened up, not having realized he had been so loud. But then again sound does travel well through the room.

"The readings from the suit are normal. You know I take care of that thing." Cisco defended.

"Yeah what… am I sick?" Barry cried out worried.

"I don't know… do you feel any different?" Cisco shrugged unsure.

"No not really I mean I know that I am slower in the moment but I can't… I can't tell by how much." Barry said his voice low and shaky, a bit concerned about what was happening to him.

"2%." Caitlin stated stepping around her desk, carrying her tablet with her to them.

"Tests on your components in your blood show the speed force at 100% for the last 60 days until today it dropped to 98%." She said her voice tense and tired.

"Zoom stole Jay's speed… do you think that maybe during your fight with Zoom yours might have diminished?" Cisco posed.

"But that was weeks ago. Why would I be just feeling those affects now? Dr Wells.." Barry looked to Harry, his eyes begging for some reassuring answers.

"Yeah." He answered at his name.

"You've studied the speed force more than anyone what do you think could have happened?"

"It could be any number of things." He rambled seemingly unconcerned.

"Yeah alright… it's just look Iris could have died tonight." Barry shouted frustrated.

Running his hands through his hair Barry looked down at his feet.

"She's going to be okay Barry." Caitlin whispered, pulling his hands down and taking them in hers.

Barry felt his muscles relax as she gave him a reassuring squeeze.

"You know this time. But the fact is that she is hurt right now because of me. I wasn't fast enough to protect Iris from some metahuman tonight. When Zoom attacks again… I need all of my speed and then some. I can't lose anyone else. I won't." He whispered, looking into her eyes, making sure she knew he vowed not to lose her. He wouldn't.

There was a brief moment of silence. Caitlin smiled closing her eyes; she reached out, cradling his cheek in her hand as he leaned down his forehead pressed against hers.

Breaking the silence, Harry's voice was low and clear. He was now standing facing them when he said. "You won't. I did it."

At first it was as if Barry didn't hear him, and in the next second it hit him. He thought he'd get used to the feeling, but the hurt of betrayal hit him so low it was if all the air in his lungs were sucked out.

"Woah! Woah! Woah! What is that?" Cisco shouted as Harry pulled out a small device from under the emblem of Barry's suit.

Barry curled his hands into balls of fists. Anger raging in his chest, Barry stepped forward, only stopping as Caitlin's hand slid across his chest pulling him back from doing something he could regret.

"I stole your speed and I gave it to Zoom."

"What? No! YOU'RE WORKING WITH ZOOM!?" Barry yelled, his chest rising and falling fast in anger.

"No, not at first." Harry said shaking his head unable to look any of them in the eye.

"Why would you do that?! I TRUSTED YOU… _We_ trusted you!" He cried out.

Before anyone had a chance to do anything, Joe had stormed in, brushing past them and hitting Harry square in the jaw knocking him out.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

Caitlin couldn't believe what had just happened. Again they were fooled... fooled by the same man. She couldn't comprehend how it could have happened again. Paralysed in disbelief, she stumbled behind Joe and the others as they dragged Harry down to the pipeline.

"No! Joe stop!" Caitlin cried as she watched Joe pull Harry down into the pipeline.

"Why did you put him there?"

"Because I would have killed him I didn't." Joe spat out.

"Come on let's stop this Tar Pit." He ordered as he stormed out.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

* _Late that night*_

"You know it's ironic. I was just saying how much you remind me of the old Wells and here we are just like I did with him. Standing on other side of this glass with me asking you why?" Barry muttered his arms crossed over his arms as he stared at Harry on the other side.

"I'm doing what I have to do to save my daughter." He said flatly.

"At any cost right? At the cost at Joe's daughter!?" Barry spat, his voice rising in anger and frustration because he just couldn't understand why.

"I told you I would betray you. I told you I would have to choose." He warned.

"You chose wrong." Joe grunted.

"Really did I? Cause I just sacrificed my daughter. I just sentenced my daughter to death because I chose to save _your_ son!"

"You want a pat on the back?" Joe said sarcastically, pushing himself off the wall stepping forward.

"I want you to send me back home. Send me back to Earth 2. Think about it. Zoom wants you to get faster… he wants you to have more speed force in you for when he finally takes it. Send me back, use the implosion reactor and shut down the breach… shut down all the breaches… close them all and Zoom will never be able to cross over… ever again and that will be the end of it."

"And what about your daughter?"

"Jesse is my battle to fight not yours."

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

"This is a sample of Barry's cells after whatever Harry did to them. As you can see not only is it drained of the speed force but it's also presenting itself as chromosomal damage. If Harry kept on doing what he was doing he could have taken your powers permanently."

"Even evil Wells could think of that one." Cisco remarked.

"Look someone needs to find a way to send his ass back to where it came from or I'm going to shoot him." Joe said in a harsh voice.

"Amen." Cisco agreed.

Caitlin saw as Barry listened shaking his head.

"No." Barry disagreed.

"What do you mean no?" Joe pressed confused.

"What would we have done if we were in his position? What would you do if it was Iris Joe? Cisco, when Snart kidnapped you… tried to kill your brother unless you helped you did. And none of us judged you for that… we still don't. Because when it comes to family... when it comes to the people we all love… we're vulnerable. None of us are above making the wrong decision. He could have done it. He could have stolen my speed and none of us would have known it. But he didn't. And now he's daughters going to _die_? And we're all okay with that? I can't just give up on her. I can't give up on a world... this world of people facing death. I don't know. I may not be fast enough to stop Zoom yet but I'm not just going to close the breaches and forget about it. We have to help Wells." He said inspiringly.

Caitlin looked around her, everyone had a mixture of emotions circling their brains. Hell, she didn't even know what she was thinking. She was hurt just as everyone else, but Harry did help save Barry and that was good enough for her. Barry was right. They can't stand by and let Jesse die. Its not what they do. They were going to help save her.

"Look guys I was the one who trusted him first. I own that. I let him stay when literally all of you told me not to. So everything that's happened up until this point is on me. But this has to be a group decision."

Without saying anything, Caitlin circled around the desk, towards he husband. Snaking her arms around him, Caitlin looked at the team and then up at Barry.

"I'm with you. Always." She whispered to his side.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

Opening the door to Harry 's cell, Barry stood back "Come on." He ushered him out.

"Well I guess this is goodbye." Harry muttered.

"No it's not. I told you we're a team. Now you're a part of it. We're going to help you save Jesse. You're not going through alone. We're going to Earth 2."


	12. Welcome To Earth 2

**_Welcome to Earth 2! Hope you enjoy. Sorry if its a bit long._**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own the flash nor its characters_**

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

 _*S.T.A.R Labs*_

Skidding back into S.T.A R Labs, Barry pulled down his mask as he headed over to Caitlin and Cisco on the other side of the room.

"Bam and that's how it's done!" Cisco beamed, raising his hand for a hi five.

Slapping his hand against his friends, Barry leaned over towards Caitlin, placing a deep kiss square on his lips.

"Whew he shoots he scores!" Cisco's voice echoed beside him.

"Not bad for a guy who got a C in gym." Barry laughed, tearing his lips away from his wife.

"D+" Caitlin murmured against his lips.

"Straight up F right here." Cisco added pointing his fingers at himself.

"I can't believe we close all the breaches."

"All except the one. Our last way to Earth 2." Barry whispered.

Just as they had a quiet moment. Harry walked in, straddling his backpack over his shoulders.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yeah I just have a few things to take care of first." Barry replied, looking away down towards Caitlin.

She was looking away from him. Her hand on his chest, he hoped she couldn't feel his heart beating fast. Looking at her, everything was in slow motion. He watched every slight detail in her face. In the next beat, she turned towards him.

"Just a reminder Allen. Clocks ticking." Harry reminded, snapping Barry out of his day dream.

"It always is." Barry sighed.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

* _West Residence*_

"You know you haven't made lasagne since I left college." Barry mumbled taking the last mouthful of lasagne into his mouth.

"Well college seems like a lot closer than Earth 2. Have you told Henry yet?" Joe laughed as he began clearing out the plates from the table.

"No! Look if he knew he would try and talk me out of it and he probably would." Barry smiled leaning back in his chair, throwing an arm behind her chair.

"Well I'm going to make us some coffee."

"Tea please." Caitlin asked, before tilting her head down looking at her lap where she was twitching with the hem of her shirt.

"Sure thing. Iris you want to help me?" he raised his brows, prompting Iris to get out of her chair and leave Barry and her alone.

"Yeah." she agreed as she fumbled out of her chair.

"Hey you okay?" Caitlin knotted her fingers together, unwilling to look up at Barry as he stared at her with intense concern.

"I am." She lied, trying to hide the tears welling in her eyes.

"Cait…" He whispered pulling her chin up so that he could see her.

Looking into his eyes she could help but let the tears free fall down her cheek.

"I know why you're doing this… innocent people are in danger and need protecting. That's what we do. That's what we've always done but I don't want you to think that you have to do this because it's your fault. Because it's not. You know that right?" she rambled, trying not to choke as she talked fast.

"I do." He whispered, his face softening as he wiped the tears streaming down her face.

Caitlin leaned into his hand as he held her tightly, grazing his thumb across her cheek.

"I know it's not my fault but we made a promise and I'm going to keep it. I'll make it back to you I promise you that. I love my life here. I love my job, being the Flash. I love Joe… Iris… Cisco… _I love ou!_ I love you Dr Caitlin Snow Allen. I'm not running away from my mistakes. I promise you that. I'll come back to you." He promised before grabbing her by either side of the face and kissing her passionately.

With hot streaks still falling down her face, Caitlin bunched a fistful of his shirt in her hands pulling him closer to her with need.

Pushing him away she looked into his eyes. "Okay. Go in and come back to me. Come home."

"Always." He whispered leaning his forehead down to hers.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

* _Basement Level*_

Standing in front of the breach, everything started coming into reality. His fingers wrapped tightly against, he gripped them tighter willing himself to remember to breath.

"Alright Barry listen to me. You're about to go through the looking glass. You're going to see things that are going to look familiar but they're not. Up is down, black is white and do NOT let yourself get sucked in emotionally. And good luck."

Barry turned around to face Jay, nodding in understanding but admittedly his words left Barry feeling slightly numb.

Blinking, Barry found himself in front of Joe. Taking a deep breath and straightening himself up, Barry composed himself before opening his mouth to speak.

"Look if we're not back in 48 hours that means Zoom has us. If that happens you have to close the breach!" he said looking squarely at Joe, afraid to see Caitlin's expression beside him.

"WE'RE NOT GOING TO DO THAT!" she shouted yanking her hand out of his, clearly angry.

Barry looked at her. Reaching out he pulled her into his chest.

"We're not going to do that!" she whimpered into his shirt.

Kissing her forehead, he pulled away reluctantly to say goodbye to the rest of the team. Returning to his father, he was pulled into a tight embrace.

"You get yourself back here in one piece alright? Don't make me come and get you." He said tightening his grip around Barry.

Barry leaned into his father's embrace. Before pulling away he whispered. "Look Joe. I need you to promise me if that we're not back in time you'll close the breach."

"Bar-"

"Joe promise me! I need to know that you'll do whatever it takes to keep her safe. I can't lose her. I need you to close that breach if we don't make it back in time. Promise me!" he pleaded.

"Not just for Caitlin, but for Iris too."

Pulling away, Barry stared into his father's eyes determined for him to promise him.

"Okay I will. You better be on time for once. I love you." He choked squeezing his son's shoulders for the final time before he went off to another world.

"I love you too dad." He replied with a warm smile.

Taking a long deep breath, Barry turned around making his way back to Caitlin. Caitlin was in the middle of hugging Cisco good bye when she turned around to face him.

"Come here." He whispered reaching out taking her hands and pulling her arms around him.

"Be careful." She whispered, tears filling her eyes once again.

"I will." He replied grabbing either side of her face in his hands. Brushing a strand away and tucking it behind her ear, Barry took the chance to stop. To look her in the eyes, needing her to know what he says next… he means every word.

"Cait don't worry I'll be back before you know it. I need you to know that we'll be okay and I'll keep my promise. I'll make it back to you!"

"Just keep your promise. I'll be right here waiting for you." She nodded, reaching up she pulled him by the collar of his jacket pulling his lips to hers.

Barry didn't care who was around them, at this moment he didn't know what was going to happen next. In that moment all there was, was her and him. The world melted away. Caitlin tightened her grip, feeling her need and desperation, Barry tangled his hands in her hair, holding her to his lips as she parted, opening her mouth allowing her deeper. Barry pressed harder, deepening their kiss with a passionate hunger.

Breaking apart to breathe, Caitlin kept her eyes shut as Barry held onto her tight.

"I love you Barry Allen." She whispered inches from his lips.

"I love you too." He replied kissing her again quickly.

Pulling away unwillingly slid away from her arms and made his way over to Harry and Cisco who were facing front on towards the entrance to another universe.

"You don't have to do this." Harry reminded him for the umpteenth time.

"Yeah I do." Barry breathed out.

"Is anyone else feeling panic right now? I chickened out on bungee jumping when I was eighteen but this seems categorically a lot scarier." Cisco rambled.

Barry turned to Cisco with a wide eyed expression. Distracting him from Cisco's remarks, Jay's voice cut in.

"Once I turn the speed canon on, the three of you will be able to pass though unharmed. Barry you need to make sure you keep your speed up." He instructed.

"Ahm." Barry understood.

"I got no spit." Cisco blurted out.

"Jaws." Harry nodded.

"I'm not just quoting Jaws I mean mouth is really dry right now." Cisco spluttered nervously.

"Don't get distracted by anything you see on the way." Jay voiced.

"What are we gonna see?" Cisco said looking over his shoulder.

"Everything."

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

And then they were gone.

Just as they jumped in Caitlin held her breath. She didn't think she wouldn't be able to breathe again until they got back.

"Caitlin! Look out!" Jay shouted, running towards her and pulling her out of the way before there was a large bang and one of the stabilizers came sliding across the room towards her.

"You okay?" Jay huffed out pulling her off the ground.

"Yeah I'm fine." She breathed out heavy, dusting herself off.

"What happened?" Iris pressed as she came running down towards them.

"With the rest of the breaches closed the energy surge to this last remaining breach must of destabilized it." Jay explained.

"What does that mean?" Caitlin asked anxiously.

"As long as it's unstable Barry and Cisco are trapped over there."

Caitlin felt her heart drop, she looked back over to the catastrophe behind her.

 _Barry!_

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

* _Earth 2*_

Travelling through the breach, Barry felt the speed force pulse through him, giving him power and pushing him forward. All around him he saw Flashes of the past, future, present… the unknown and it emboldened him to accelerate forward towards a new universe.

Seeing their destination an arm's length away, Barry pushed through until they jumped out and landed on solid ground. Barry looked around him, his mouth gaping in awe. Everything looked weirdly familiar yet an odd sensation reminded him just how different things were.

"Holy 2001 it feels like I just opened up my third eye." Cisco stammered breathlessly as he stumbled his way after Harry.

"Oh my god! Come on." Harry pressed impatiently as he rushed towards the elevators.

Suddenly with a whirl wind of excitement jolting through his veins, Barry's jaw dropped when he stepped off the elevators, looking out through the glass floor to ceiling wall outstretching to the view of the city.

"Wow!" Barry breathed.

"Welcome to Earth 2." Harry grumbled.

"Toto I have feeling where not in Kansas anymore." Cisco remarked excitedly.

"Dude this is amazing! We don't have half these ideas on our Earth." Barry said amazed at all the science around him"

"Come here." Harry ushered annoyed.

"Ramon. Not a site seeing tour!" He yelled.

"Speak for yourself; we want our grand kids to know we did cool stuff." Cisco rolled his eyes shoving his phone back into his pocket.

"Dr Wells!" a familiar voice greeted.

"Henry." Harry smiled shaking the man's hand.

"Welcome back. We weren't expecting you." He smiled shaking Harry's hand firmly in return.

"Argh!" Cisco and Barry yelped flinching backwards.

"Yes I didn't tell anyone I was coming back." Harry stuttered a taken back by their sudden reaction.

"Well I thought you might have left town with all that has been happening." Henry stated eyeing Barry and Cisco up and down.

"Right." Harry nodded unsure.

"Is your friends okay?" Henry asked concerned.

"Yes they're fine. They're excitable. This um…" Harry began

"Henry Hewitt lab assistant. Please to make your acquaintance." Henry introduced reaching out his hands greeting them.

"And you. Um this I am Barry and this is Cisco." Barry stammered still in utter shock and disbelief. Jay was right when this world was all kinds of weird.

"I'm Cisco and you're just a nice normal guy." Cisco blurted out his eyes cautious of the man standing in front of him.

"Um Dr Wells will you and your guests be needing the conference room?" Henry asked curtly.

"Not necessary henry. Our visit will be short. Good to see you." He smiled waving him away.

"Good to see you sir." He said before taking his leave.

Barry watched as the man walked away. He couldn't believe that who he was seeing. Harry turned towards them his arms outstretched, his eyebrows raised.

"He's was a bad guy on earth one." Cisco muttered and reasonable excuse.

"He looks exactly like him." Barry defended following Harry towards his office as he rolled his eyes at them.

* * *

* _Harry's Office*_

Barry followed closely behind Harry, taking in the strange familiarity of everything around him. Entering a dark room, Barry saw a Harry's figure wave his hand as if he were grasping air and in the next second all the lights and tvs in the room turned on.

 _"A reminder that a city wide curfew has been issued. No one un-authorised person is to be out after 9pm. A recent increase in Zoom attacks has led Mayor Snart to extend the curfew. The curfew was first issues after a series of terror attacks throughout the city..."_

"It's worse… its worse than when I left. Zoom has turned up his reign of terror." Harry sighed as he placed his things down on his desk, glancing up on towards the tv.

"Alright then let's find Zoom fast. Cisco do your thing." Barry suggested.

Cisco nodded, pulling out his glasses.

"Alright Zoom. You can run but you cannot hide." He remarked before placing the glasses on.

Barry waited anxiously as he watched Cisco stare off into space. After a moment of nothing Cisco tore off his glasses.

"Alright you know what… you guys are crowding my space a lil bit I can't perform like this under pressure. If you can step back a lil bit please a lil bit I need to do my thing to do my mojo." He huffed out.

"Alright okay yes okay." Barry said pulling up his hands and stepping back a few steps along with Harry.

"Alright take 2. Zoom you can run." Cisco repeated as he placed back on his glasses.

With nothing happening again. Harry stepped forward impatiently.

"Ramon what's going happening?" he yelled.

"I don't know… I can't see anything. I don't know what's wrong! Maybe I lost my powers." Cisco shrugged unsure.

"But I didn't lose my powers. Why would you lose your powers?" Barry pressed his brows pulling together suddenly apprehensive.

Barry watched as Cisco fumbled with his glasses.

"Oh here we go the wave length trigger isn't responding but that only happens." He pointed out.

"If the frequency isn't balanced." Cisco began.

"What?" Barry asked nervously, running his hands through his hair.

"Our earth vibrates at a different frequency than yours." Harry huffed out throwing something across the room and placing his hand on his hips in frustration.

"Harry without that frequency…" Cisco mumbled.

"We're up a creek." Barry stated his eyes wide eyed in the sudden fear in the realization that they were screwed.

Lost in his thoughts, Barry didn't even realize the news on the tv until he heard his voice.

 _"The latest attack was orchestrated by Zoom and we understand that citizens of Central City are scared but I can assure you that the CCPD has been working …"_

"That's me!" Barry stammered pointing at the tv shocked.

An overwhelming sensation filled his chest. It was like looking in a weird mirror. One that he didn't recognize.

 _"On the metahumans."_

"Yeh it is!" Laughed Cisco.

" _With Detective West. We will stop Zoom that a promise."_

"With the leadership of Det. West. So Joe is still a detective here." Cisco nodded.

A sudden surge of hope swelled around Barry. Okay, there was another way of getting information. A small smile pulling on the edge of his lips, Harry suddenly switched of the Tv.

"Yeah and more importantly I'm still a CSI… I have a plan." Barry stated confidently.

Before he could hear anyone's opinion Barry flashed over to the CCPD and smugly smiled at himself before swooping in and steal his doppelganger back to S.T.A.R Labs.

"Wha- what the hell just happened?" Earth 2 Barry stutter as he stumbled to regain his footing.

Barry smiled widely at the strangeness of staring at himself. It was too weird to describe for words.

"Ohh do—pp—le—ganger!" Cisco muttered pointing at Earth 2 Barry.

"Wait wha—how did I get here? Who… who are you? H-H-ow do you look like me?" He piped up looking bewildered back and forth between Barry, Cisco to Wells and back to Barry.

"Allen what are you doing?" Harry raised his hand pointing towards the nerd in front of them.

"I—" Barry began before the Earth 2 of himself interrupted.

"Harrison Wells. Ha huh Ha. The Harrison Wells. OMG am I in star labs? Omg I have no idea… what is going on here but I've always wanted to meet you. Your thesis on string phenomenology was revolutionary to me I had it laminated so I could keep it I—I-" he stammered star struck.

"Oh man." Cisco commented, trying to hold back his laugh.

"That's incredible I won an award for it just over there. You see." Harry stated trying to distract the Earth 2 Barry.

Catching Harry's eye, Barry caught whatever Harry threw his way.

"oh its beautiful." Earth 2 Barry said in awe.

Barry looked down at his hands. It was a taser. Shrugging, Barry pulled up to his Earth 2 self and sent thousands of bolts through his body, knocking him out.

"What… what did you do? What's wrong with you? Did you just turn into an evil you?" Cisco exclaimed shocked.

"Relax I just knocked him out." Barry shrugged.

Tossing back the taser, Barry leaned across the unconscious him stealing his glasses.

"Oh… while you guys work on the goggles I will go to CCPD as him and see if I could figure out what information they have about Zoom's previous sightings."

"We can use those sightings to triangulate zooms hide out." Harry nodded.

"Dude that sounds like a good plan just remember what Jay said… things here are all sorts of trippy." Cisco warned.

"Alright... it will be fine. I can handle it. Easy." He brushed it off with a smile.

* * *

 _*CCPD*_

Feeling out the fabric of his suit, Barry readjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose as the doors opened up into the foyer of CCPD.

Stepping out into the yellow lit room, Barry stumbled over himself, his mouth to the floor. Looking around him, the room seemed exactly as it was in the present, but the aura around him felt as though he was in a futuristic 50s period.

"Woah!" Barry breathed under his breath.

"Get your hands off me!" A criminal yelled as he was dragged into the CCPD.

"Captain?" Barry called out looking at the mafia looking Captain Singh. The man before smirked him off as he was dragged on by.

"Look I don't know nothing… so I ain't saying nothing!" he spat as he struggled against his restraints.

"Okay." A familiar voice replied sarcastically.

"Deadshot?" Barry recognised.

"Ha ha ha that's not funny Allen. I hate that nickname. Okay look I know I'm not the best shot in the department but I—" he began his voice traced with hint of hurt.

"Ha ha ha! Not the best? Partner you are the worst shot in the entire department. Why don't you book Singh here and I'll be in there in a moment."

 _Iris?_ Barry watched as a confident woman walked up to them, placing a firm hand on Deadshot's shoulders.

"Whatever you say partner." She laughed dryly.

 _Iris? What?_

"Come on. Oh and just for the record my marksmanship proficiency ratings went up by 2 points last month… 2 points!" he exaggerated as he walked Singh into the bullpen.

"Wooh!" she responded sarcastically before turning to face him.

"Iris… you're Detective West!" he stated in disbelief.

"The one and only. Can I see you for a sec CSI Allen?" she asked rhetorically taking him by the arm and leading him down a secluded hallway.

"Yeah." Barry whispered under his breath barely audible.

Just as Barry rounded the corner behind Iris, he was blindsided and pushed against the wall. Before he had time to react, Iris planted a kiss on square on his lips.

"What are you doing?" Barry stuttered pushing Iris awkwardly back away from him.

"What I think a little office PDA between husband and wife is fine." She teased, pulling him by the collar of his suit and tracing her lips over his.

"Husband and wife?" Barry choked pulling away.

"Yeah that's what happens when you say the vows exchange the rings… where is your ring?" she muttered distractedly noticing his silver wedding band instead of his earth's 2 gold.

"Ahh…" he stuttered lost for words.

"People should know you're a taken man." She laughed leaning in to kiss him again.

Struggling to pull away, Barry looked sideways for a reasonable excuse for an escape when a sudden sound of successive beeps fortunately interrupting them.

Barry took a sigh of relief.

"That's so weird." She muttered looking at her wrist.

"What is that?" Barry asked glad for the distraction.

"My metahuman alert app thinks that you're a metahuman!"

 _Oh shit._

"That is so weird!" Barry fumbled with his words.

Scrabbling to neaten up his suit, after being pinned against a wall, Barry was once again startled as Iris pushed him back again kissing him hard on the lips before pulling away; grabbing his hand she began leading him out.

"Come on lets go."

"Go where?" Barry stammered frazzled, feeling disoriented.

"Home." She smiled.

* * *

* _West-Allen Residence*_

Opening the door, like he'd done so many times before, Barry stepped into the warmth of this strange home. Drinking in its décor, Barry looked at all the photos propped up on the table by the door. Looking at all the wedding photos, holiday photos Barry couldn't brush off the overwhelming feeling that this was reality and it wasn't right. This life it wasn't right, but it felt so real.

"This is nice… our home… I forgot I guess." Barry muttered.

"What is wrong with you? You've been acting all weird all day." Iris pointed out flatly.

"I'm just not feeling like myself I guess." Barry coughed clearing his throat, trying to get back into playing his doppelganger.

"You're mom called." Iris said casually as she started unbuttoning her top heading up the stairs towards her bedroom.

 _Mom?_ Barry watched as Iris disappeared, before staggering into the living room. Looking down at the phone, he saw a speed dial button for his parents. Barry had to take a moment. His mother was alive. Picking up the phone, Barry pressed for his parent's number. He didn't know what to expect. Barry held his breath.

"Allen residence hello?"

Barry's heart stopped at the sound of her voice. It couldn't be. His mother was dead.

"Ah hello?"

Barry drew a sharp breath, taking off his glasses, Barry brushed away the tears using the back of his hand.

"Mom?" he choked out unable to control his emotions.

"Well you certainly took your time to call back." She laughed.

Barry struggled to but forced to keep his voice level.

"Yeah um I'm… I'm sorry about that." He sniffed.

"Thank you so much for the anniversary tickets to Atlantis. Your dad and I have always wanted to go."

"I'm… I'm really glad you liked them." Barry choked.

Listening to her voice on the other end of the line Barry's heart swelled with a mixture of joy & pain. There were so many things he wanted to say but as he opened up to speak nothing came out. His mouth grew dry and he was lost for words. All he could think of was the word _mom._

"You okay? You sound kind of strange…"

"I fine I'm..." Barry's voice broke trying to regain his composure.

"Hey I know maybe I'll give the plane tickets to you and Iris… a little holiday so you two can start on give me a grandchild." She laughed.

"No… no I want you to use them. I'm really glad to hear you happy mom." He whispered.

"I love you Barry."

"I love you too." He cried.

"Okay bye bye hunny."

Hanging up the phone, Barry thought this was one of the hardest things he had to do. Putting down the phone, he felt his heart break all over again. _His mom was alive. On this Earth she was alive._ That was the only thing running through his brain.

"Baby what's wrong?" Iris asked concerned as she walked back down stairs.

Barry brushed away the strangler tears, shoving back on the glasses before composing his expression before turning to face her.

"Ahh nothing it was really good to talk to my mom." He smiled, glancing back towards the phone.

"Well we should get ready." She said changing the subject.

"Yeah." He coughed.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

 _*Basement level*_

Caitlin rocked on back on forth on her knees as she worked anxiously beside Jay on the speed canon.

Taking a moments pause, Caitlin closed her eyes feeling a wave of nausea hit her like a fret train.

"Hey Cait, you okay?"

"I'm fine." She lied as she cradled her head in her hand.

As Jay opened his mouth to disagree, fortunately for her Joe walked in interrupting.

"How's it going?" Joe asked.

"Slow. Which is not a good adjective when it comes to a speed canon." Jay sighed.

"Well, we got another problem." Joe said his voice low and wary.

"Why do we always have to have another problem?" Caitlin grunted frustrated as she took a deep breath keeping the nausea at bay before, pulling herself up to fast, she almost fell over.

"Hey, hey, Caitlin." Joe rushed to her side immediately catching her.

"I'm okay, just got up a little too fast." She promised, stabilized herself on Joe's arm.

"Let's head to the cortex."

* * *

* _The Cortex*_

Sitting behind her desk, Caitlin cradled her head in her hands as she watched the recording of the metahuman on the news through her fingers.

"Caitlin." Joe knelt down beside her handing her a glass of chilled water.

"You feeling any better?" He asked genuinely concerned, taking her free hand into one of his.

"You don't need to worry about me Joe I'm okay." She smiled, squeezing his hand.

"Yes I do. You're family now." He whispered, standing up kissing her on the head.

"He's name is Adam Fells. He calls himself Geomancer." Jay informed them, turning around after the news changed into a commercial.

"So this metahuman is a breacher?" Joe asked.

"No Fells died on my Earth this must be his earth one doppelgänger." Jay corrected.

"Well at least now we know his name. Make it a little easier to track him down." Joe added, pulling out his note pad and began writing down the meta's name.

"Yeah but with Barry gone. How we going to stop him even if we do find him?" Caitlin pointed out.

"Jay you can juice yourself up with that stuff… what was it?" Joe suggested looking to Caitlin for the right word.

"Velocity 6?" Caitlin prompted.

"Nah I cannot take V6!" Jay objected.

"But it gave your speed back long enough to take that bullet out of Wells to save his life."

"Joe, don't ask me to take velocity 6 again!" he said with harsh finality.

"Look Jay I'm not trying to tell you what to do but Barry is protecting _your_ world and our world needs a flash round about now." He reminded him shaking his head disappointed as he left.

Caitlin opened her mouth, but the clattering sound of the pen being thrown into the side of the wall, made her seal her lips back shut.

"Jay…" Caitlin called out as she slowly followed Jay out into the next room.

"Caitlin I like the way you look at me with warmth and pride and… and I'm not worthy of those." He blurted stopping her in her tracks.

There was a pause, when Caitlin thought about what she would say.

"Yes you are."

"No. no I did a terrible thing Caitlin. When my world's particle accelerator went off I became a speedster… I became the fastest man alive…. Only, only it wasn't enough for me. I wasn't… I wasn't fast enough… so I figured with my scientific background I could increase my powers... I did."

"So you've take velocity 6 before?

"Yes, but there were some unforeseen side effects." He trailed off unable to look her directly in the eye.

"So that's why you didn't want Barry to take it or even know about it … Zoom never stole your speed, this is what's making you sick. This is what's killing you." She pieced together.

"I told you it was dangerous."

In that moment she didn't know what to think. _He lied to them. He lied to her._ Deep down, she questioned whether she could trust him or not, but knowing everything he's done to help them, to help Barry… she had to put her faith in him, that keeping this secret from them was a genuine mistake and that he'd bring Barry back home to her. She needed to believe in the best of him even though there was a subtle nagging in the way he looked at her that told her she shouldn't.

"Well you had something you never had before… me. And I'll figure this out." She promised before turning around to work on this miracle.

* * *

* _Hours Later*_

Caitlin didn't know how long she'd been working for but by the degree of darkness outside she knew it was late. Pinching the bridge of her nose as she closed her eyes exhausted, Caitlin looked back down through the microscope trying to find the right compound equation in creating a serum that will work and more importantly bring them a step closer to a cure.

Frustrated and tired, Caitlin threw her pen across the room, leaning back in her chair as she blew out a deep breath. Looking at the time on her wrist, she contemplated how long they'd been gone for. Sitting here, she hated not knowing what was happening a universe away from here. Sitting alone, the eerie silence, she felt like crying. Now frustrated, that she felt like crying for no particular reason, she was so emotionally and physically drained she couldn't comprehend why she was being so moody.

Having time to herself, she couldn't help but get lost in her worst fears. With Barry so far away in another universe she cursed under her breath scared the he'd break his promise. She feared that he wouldn't make it back in time because she knew if he didn't there was no way she could handle living without him. Not anymore. She was in too deep. All of her was with him. But she knew she had to hold out hope. He promised her… and he will make it back. _He will._ She reminded herself. _He loved her._

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

* _Jitterbugs*_

Mesmerised by the massive changes in his parallel life, Barry stared at Joe as his music filled the warm space of Jitterbugs.

"So can we talk about why Joe—seph hates me so much?" he asked leaning towards Iris, his eyes never leaving Joe.

"What's there to talk about you can't stand him either." She mumbled rolling her eyes at him.

"Right." Barry stuttered.

"Look I can love you both even if you can't love each other." She cooed, pulling Barry's face towards her.

Barry flinched slightly under her fingers. Just as she was about to lean in for a kiss, her watch began to beep again. Thankful for the interrupting Barry swallowed as he pulled back unnoticed by Iris.

"My metahuman alert app?" she said her eyes scanning the number of people scattered around the room.

Trying not to be too obvious, Barry followed suit and began scanning the room, keeping her in his sights though the corner of his eye. With his hands sweating, Barry gripped onto the arm chair. Suddenly, the music cut mid song, as a gust of warm and cool air swept through room.

"Don't stop singing old man." A familiar voice laughed.

Barry's head snapped immediately in the direction of Ronnie's voice.

 _Ronnie?_

"That's our song." An angelic white haired metahuman whispered as she pulled out from behind him.

Barry leaned forward, his eyes widening in surprise. _Caitlin?_

His eyes glued to her, Barry watched as she stalked slowly through the crowd, stealing a cherry from one of the glasses and tentatively placed it in her mouth.

"So which one of you lounge lizards are in the wrong universe. Show of hands… don't be shy." She teased, pulling off the stem of the cherry.

Barry swallowed hard. _This can't be right._ How? Barry couldn't understand what was happening. What happened to her?

From the corner of his eye, he saw Iris make small movements towards her purse. Releasing his fingers from his iron grip on the side of the chair, Barry's fingers ached with the subtle movements to make her stop.

"No don't… no." he whispered low.

"Hey handsome." She toyed ambling towards him, with a slow determined stride.

"Have something to tell me?" she sneered standing in front of him.

Barry remained still, his eyes fixated on her icy blue gaze.

Unable to speak, he just shook his head.

"No?" she shook her head at him.

With her mouth setting in a grim line, she straightened up and sulked her way back towards Ronnie.

"Baby no one wants to talk to me." She frowned.

"What if I make them scream." He teased, his lips hovering over hers.

Inching forward, Barry felt defensively jealous. _This isn't Caitlin._ He had to remind himself from flashing out of his chair.

Just as quickly, as Barry re-adjusted himself an inch back, Iris had pulled out her department issued gun and aimed it towards Caitlin and Ronnie.

"CCPD! Everyone get out of here! You're under arrest." She shouted.

Within a second, there was an uproar in the place with everyone scurrying out to the exit. Barry jumped out of his chair, unsure of what he was going to do or what he should do. His eyes kept flicking back and forth between Caitlin and Iris.

"Ladies first." Ronnie smiled, nodding to Caitlin.

Barry saw as Caitlin edged forward, a smirk pulling at the corner of her face, her hands beginning to emit a cool chill. Just as she held up her hands ready to attack, Barry stepped forward.

"Caitlin." Barry called out to her.

There was a brief moment where she looked at him. Beneath the icy blue, he saw a hint of the warm brown he knew so well.

"I haven't heard that name in a long time." She whispered, eyeing Barry curiously.

"But that's your name isn't it. You're real name please I know _you_ …don't do this." He pleaded with her as he made subtle steps closer to her.

"If you knew me at all you'd know I hate that name Caitlin. _I'm Killer Frost_." She seethed, raising her icy hands again.

"Run!" he shouted over his shoulder towards Iris.

"Iris look out!" he bellowed.

Barry jumped in front of Iris pulling her down as he flipped the table over in time to protect her from Caitlin.

With his heart beating hard and loud against his chest, Barry looked over his shoulder gesturing for Iris to leave. Nodding, she scurried out from behind him. Just as Barry peered over the edge of the table, a hot streak of fire shot across his face.

"IRIS!" Joe yelled pushing her out of the way.

In slow motion, Barry saw as the ball of fire, hit Joe square in the chest, sending him flying across the room.

"No dad!"

His mouth gaping, Barry's mouth set in a grim line, turning back to Ronnie and Caitlin, he sped both of them out into the rain.

* * *

* _Outside*_

"Well hello breacher." She said as she eyed him through her long lashes.

"He's a speedster babe." Ronnie warned.

"Oh I'm shivering. I've been dying to kill the _Flash_!" she laughed.

"I don't want to hurt _you."_ Barry directed to her.

"Trust me you won't." she replied coyly with a sly smile.

There was a brief moment where they just stared at each other. A long silence in which Barry didn't know what to do. _This was Caitlin…_

"Kill him!" she ordered unflinching.

Just as Ronnie began his assault, Barry ran across the area, dodging the ball of flames.

"Omg this is making me so hot." She shouted aroused.

Speeding though the city, Barry weaved in and out of the traffic, Ronnie following close behind him. Circling back to the square, Barry reached a top of the statue of Jay, unhinging his helmet. Placing his feet firmly on the ground, Barry redirected the fireballs aimed at him back towards Ronnie. Mistakenly in the chaos, Barry accidently reflected a shot towards Caitlin, hitting her on the arm, knocking her back to the ground.

Immediately noticing what he done, Barry dropped his defences, inching towards her aid, but stopped in his tracks when he witnessed Ronnie dropping to his knees beside her.

"This ain't over beacher!" Ronnie roared as he scooped Caitlin into his arms and soared into the sky in a streak of red flames.

With his chest heaving, Barry stared after them as they made their escape, disappearing into the darkness.

"Barry!" Iris voice called out.

"Barry!"

* * *

* _Back at S.T.A.R Labs*_

"Killer Frost and Deathstorm?" Harry repeated.

"You know them?" Barry asked briskly.

"Yeah and more importantly they know you're here." He replied irritated.

"So Caitlin and Ronnie's doppelgängers are evil. That's some dope names though." Cisco mumbled to himself.

"This was meant to be a surgical mission Allen. Find Zooms lair rescue Jesse. Get in! Get out! Not get _involved!_ " Harry blew out frustrated.

Knowing he might of screwed things up, Barry ran his hands through his hair.

"Look I am involved okay! Joes in the hospital they nearly killed him." Barry stated throwing his hands up above his head.

"No he isn't!" Harry reminded him in a loud stern voice.

"Ye—"

"No! Joe West your Joe West is alive and safe on your Earth. So is _Caitlin_ so is Iris. These people Barry, are mirror reflections as far as your life is concerned they don't exist." He lectured.

"Killer Frost, Deathstorm they know you're here and it's not long before zoom does too and then my daughter's dead and that _is_ on you."

Barry shook his head. _No!_ He wasn't going to lose anyone else. He was going to save Jesse… and he was going to save Joe… he was going to save Caitlin.

"Jesse still has time okay but Iris and Joe… they need me now!" Barry protested.

"She is not-!"

"I HAVE TO GET BACK NOW!" Barry yelled stubbornly.

"NOT IRIS!" Harry continued to yelled over Barry.

Stepping back, Barry looked at Harry.

"She is to me. No matter what universe… to me they are my family! And right now you should understand how important family is!" he whispered.

Harry opened his mouth to protest.

"I'm going Wells I have to."

 _I need to find Caitlin. I need to know what happened._

* * *

* _CCPD*_

Bringing Cisco with him, Barry walked into CCPD his eyes scanning through the almost deserted room for Iris.

"Oh Iris." Cisco called out impressed.

As they approached from behind, Iris turned around shielding a knife to Cisco's throat at the mention of her name being called.

"Do I know you?" she eyed him suspiciously.

Reaching out a bit unnerved by her sudden reaction, Barry reached out slowly, prompting her to lower the knife.

"This is my good friend Cisco Ramon." He introduced.

"Good friend?" she said shifting her gaze to Barry.

"Yeah. Cisco works at Star Labs and he has built a weapon he believes we can use to neutralize um Killer Frost's powers." Barry nodded towards the case Cisco was holding.

"Great thanks, I'll take it." She said bluntly, trying to yank the case out of Cisco's hands.

"Please I should really take this." Cisco grumbled, his grip unflinching against her pull.

Scratching the side of his head, Barry watched the small and awkward pause as both of them glared at each other.

"Alright… one of my snitches gave me a lead on Killer Frost and Deathstorm's location. We're going to bring them in." she informed them, her eyes never leaving Cisco.

"Okay well I'm going with you Iris." Barry insisted.

"No! Barry I just lost my father I can't lose my husband too."

Barry shifted uneasy between his feet, at a loss, he's eyes dropped to the floor, his heart aching at them memory of losing Joe. Closing his eyes for a brief moment, Barry cringed at the sound of heart monitor blending into one long lasting beep. The sound echoed through his brain. Taking a deep breath, he tried to compose himself.

"Alright Cisco is the only one who knows how to operate the device so you have to take him." He spoke clearly.

"No I'm not going to put a civilian in harm's way." She protested.

"Look I've seen fire I've seen rain I can handle myself Mrs West… _Allen_." Cisco exaggerated, looking to Barry as his voice trailed off.

"Alright. I love you."

"I love you too." Barry repeated.

"Let's move." She ordered, storming out.

Barry's mouth set in a grim line as she watched Iris leave. Nudging him in the side, Barry turned to Cisco his face serious.

"We're here to work on finding Jesse. Are you sure this is what you want to be doing?"

"Yes right now we have to help Iris…" _And to find Caitlin_. He said to himself.

"Just make sure no one gets hurt." He nodded to Cisco.

* * *

* _Abandoned Warehouse*_

Out of the way, Barry lurked in the shadows as he watched the intense interactions with all the doppelgangers of earth 2. Still from a distance he couldn't comprehend the odd feeling settling in his chest. In a way, this was his life. Those were the people he loved but they weren't.

Lost in his own thoughts, Cisco's cry for help broke through "Flash! Save us!

Barry flashed into the middle of the scene body slamming Cisco's doppelganger hard, sending him flying across the abandoned warehouse.

"Hey that didn't hurt you did it?" He asked Cisco concerned.

"No why would it?"

Barry shrugged. Pivoting fast on the ball of his heels, he turned towards Ronnie and Caitlin, instinctively placing himself between them, Cisco and Iris.

"Detective, just get out of here alright!" Called from over his shoulder, his gaze fixated on Caitlin.

"No not without them!" she objected, tearing the gun out of Cisco's hand and firing it right towards Caitlin

"No Cait!" Barry screamed as he watched Caitlin fling back, staggering wounded on the ground.

In the next moment, fire started raining down on them. Blowing out an air of frustration, Barry flashed Iris behind a dishevelled concrete wall.

"Stay here!" he said bluntly before rushing forward, straight into the hell fire.

Weaving in and out of attack, Barry suddenly screamed in pain as an unforeseen pulse of energy knocked him into the adjacent wall. Splintering aches of pain explode in his head as he tries to get back up. As his vision blurs, both Reverb and Deathstorm follow through with continuous attacks to entire his body. Barry felt as the breath is blasted from his lungs by the force of their power. Choking on the metallic taste of his blood, Barry fought the nausea and pain, struggling to fight for air, Barry looked up hearing Caitlin's voice cut through the ringing in his ears.

"Stop both of you! Zoom wanted him alive. You know what Zoom will do if you don't obey him!"

In a flash of blue streaks of lightening, Barry blinked and Zoom had his hand through the centre of Ronnie's chest.

"NNNOOOO!" Caitlin cried out in pain.

"That." Zoom's voice crackled.

Choking, Barry could hardly move. With everything coming in and out of focus Barry, urged his body to move, but the pain numbed him still.

"What did I say you should do if you encounter a speedster?" he taunted as he stood inches from Reverb.

"Leave him unharmed." He replied, cowering in front of him.

"Does that seem like unharmed to you." He said pointing towards Barry.

Before he had a chance to answer, Zoom stuck his hand straight into his chest without warning. Barry could only watch helplessly, watching as Reverb's limb body collapsed to the ground. Barry's followed as Zoom sped his way to Caitlin.

 _Caitlin!_ Barry screamed but there was no sound to his voice.

Trying desperately for his body to heal, Barry managed to tilt his head to the side. As an unwilling bystander saw as Zoom grasped her by the neck, yielding her up to him.

As she choked for air, against his devilish grip, Barry closed his eyes praying he wouldn't hurt her.

"I'm happy to see at least one of you knows there place." He grunted, holding her up as his head tilted sideways appraising her before he dropped her to her knees coughing.

As Zoom stalked his way slowly to him, the darkness began to consume him. From far away he could hear Cisco's voice call out his name. As his vision blurred he saw Caitlin stagger away, gripping her injured arm. _Caitlin._ He reached out before his hand dropped and the darkness won.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

 _*Back at S.T.A.R Labs*_

Trying to stay sane by keeping herself busy, Caitlin broke open her medical kit, as she leaned in dabbing antiseptic on Jay's wounded shoulder. Flinching under her touch, Caitlin paused.

"Sorry did I forget to say this might sting?" she said apologetically.

"It's not my first road rash. I'm a speedster remember." He teased, relaxing his muscles.

"You made sure no one could forget that today." She stated, resuming tending to his wounds.

"Thanks to you." He smiled, looking up at her though his lashes.

"V7 held up pretty well moving onto V8 I'll figure it out I swear…" she promised, keeping still as she stared off into the wall behind him, her mind ticking on the next formula.

Tearing her eyes away from the wall, she looked back down to Jay, her expression soft but desperate. "…I just need you to figure out how to restabilise the breach. I need you to figure out a way to bring them home."

"Barry, Cisco and Wells have only 24 hrs to go." Jay stated, glancing over to the breach down in the basement.

"So we have one day or they could be stuck there forever. And I can't I need Barry back." She said, holding her breath, her fingers tightening around the metal rod in her hand as she stared into the entrance to another universe anxious.

"I'll do it. For you... I'll figure out a way." Jay promised, pulling her hand into his.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

* _Zoom's Lair*_

 _Knock, knock… knock.. knock, knock._

Shaking away the heavy darkness plaguing his eyes, Barry pushed through the splintering headache, opening his eyes. He stared at the water damaged, rust covered ceiling.

 _What happened? Where was he? Cisco? Iris? Caitlin?_

Propping himself up onto his elbows, Barry surveyed his surroundings, suddenly the reality of what happened and where he was settling into him.

 _Zoom!_

Jumping to his feet, Barry pushed himself to the glass wall, trying to faze out. Unsuccessful, Barry hit his fist hard against the clear panelled wall.

Resigned, Barry took a deep breath looking around, his eyes falling to a girl curled up in the corner of her own cell.

"Jesse! Jesse! I'm here with your dad. We're going to get you out of here I promise." He said pressing harder against the glass.

The girl edged towards him, with a gust of wind and blue lightening she flinched back into the shadows. Barry straightened up, his eyes glaring into the dark pit of Zoom's eyes.

"It's not wise to be making promises you can't keep. Look around _Flash_... This is the last place… _you'll ever see_."


	13. Welcome Home

**_Hey guys! Hope you've all had wonderful holiday season. I know some of you have been eager for an update and here it is FINALLY! I apologize in advance if I haven't been updating quite regularly, I've just been busy with work, the holidays amongst other reasons so if the next few chapters don't come as quick I'm sorry again. Hope you enjoy anyways as always. A belated Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year to you all._**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own the Flash nor its characters._**

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

 _*Zoom's Lair*_

Sitting with his back against the glass wall behind him, Barry gently peeled off his gloves, looking down at his hand, Barry stared at his wedding band… his thoughts drifting to Caitlin.

 _Knock_ _knock… knock knock knock_

Distracted by the noise, Barry hoisted himself back onto his feet, leaning close to the glass her turned to Jesse.

"Who is that?"

"I don't know. He's been here since Zoom brought me to this place." She shrugged, her eyes on the mysterious iron masked man.

 _Knock knock knock_

"Look stop… okay please stop!" Jesse pleaded exasperated.

"Jesse I think he might be trying to help us." Barry eyed, as he studied the man in a matching cell across from him.

"Nothing is going to help us." Jesse spat defeated.

"That's not true. We're going to get out of here. You're dad's going to find us I promise."

"You sure have a lot of faith in a man who only cares for himself."

"You know I thought that at first too. It's not true. _Every_ decision that he's made, _every_ action he's taken since we've met… it's been to save you. You're dad hasn't given up on you Jesse. Don't give up on him." He assured her.

Barry saw a flicker of a smile appear at the corner of her lips. He hoped he was right. They were going to find them. They were going to save Jesse and he was going to make it back home to Caitlin. He had to believe it.

As Barry remained hopeful, lost in his own hopes. He blinked awake by the high pitched scream. "Arrggh!"

Barry pressed forward protectively trying to get of his cell as Zoom flashed before Jesse, his tall demeanour leering over her.

"Believe what you want. The only reason why you're still alive is so that I can _kill_ you in front of your father and the only reason your father is still alive… is to give me your speed. Once he does that… he will die too." He said painfully slow.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

 _*S.T.A.R Labs*_

 _"Up after the break, earthquake causing metahuman leaves citizens shaken and wondering where is the Flash?"_

Playing with the silver band on her finger, Caitlin took an anxious deep breath.

"It's finished the breach. It's stabilized again. Barry, Cisco and Wells have less than 20 hours to get back."

Caitlin flinched, a little startled by Jay's sudden voice behind her. Muting the TV, Caitlin turned around to face him.

"You're amazing." She smiled.

"When it comes to stabilizing breaches maybe… not so much when it comes to fighting metahumans." Jay huffed out indicating towards the news broadcast.

"You were a little rusty." She excused trying to make him feel better.

"I was too slow." He smiled at her before turning his attention back to the screen.

"Geomancer is still out there Caitlin. He has to be stopped. I have to be ready in case he attacks again. How much longer until the velocity—"

"Eight." She finished.

"Velocity eight is ready?"

"I need to finalize the compound to make sure the extra cellular matrix stays intact so that you don't lose your speed as fast." She explained, her eyes dropping to the floor.

"Okay great. What is it?" he asked sensing her hesitation.

Caitlin sighed as she moved over to her computer pulling up Jay's latest test results.

"After your last encounter with Geomancer I ran some tests… the velocity 7 is reacting with the damaged cells in your body. It's causing more cellular degeneration."

"Well I have faith that the next batch won't do the same thing." He said confidently.

"Jay I can't keep giving this to you if it's hurting you." She blurted out flatly.

"If it will help me defeat Geomancer, you might have to. Until Barry gets back I might be the only chance this city has."

At the sound of someone else saying Barry's name, Caitlin's heart skipped a beat. There was a feeling in the pit of her stomach that told her something wasn't right, and the unknowing killed her. Following Jay's eyes back to the screen, she knew he was right. Until her husband got back she had to hold out hope that he was going to make it back to her.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

 _The knocking continued in a tireless repetitive cycle._

 _Knock knock knock._

With his head leaning against the glass, Barry concentrated in understanding what the knocking could mean.

"That's not Morse code…" he mumbled under his breath.

 _Knock knock knock_ became more aggressive.

"I know he's trying to tell us something we've just got to find the pattern." Barry sighed, stepping back and running his hand through his hair.

 _Knock knock… knock knock knock_

"There's no pattern… Barry." Jesse huffed out resigned.

"You know your dad, who I'm pretty sure is one of the smartest people to live on either of our Earths, told me the only person smarter than him… _was you_."

"He said that?"

Barry nodded in confirmation "If that's true and we work together… I know we can figure this out."

Jesse stared at him for a moment as if gauging he was telling her the truth.

 _Knock knock knock_

"Worth giving a shot?" He shrugged hopeful.

"Yeah okay." She nodded with a renewed sense of hope.

 _Knock knock knock_

"Well he never goes past five." Jesse assessed.

"What?" Barry said listening to the next pattern of knocks.

"He never goes past five knocks without pausing right. Listen."

 _Knock knock knock_

"Hey your right. I think I know what that is. It's a five by five tap code used by POW's" Barry's eyes widen in realization.

"That will only get us to 25 and there's 26 letters in the alphabet."

"No not if you combine T and K they sound the same. Let's try it out." Barry smiled.

"Worth a shot."

 _Knock knock_

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

Holding up the vile in her hands, Caitlin sighed, turning around her chair raising it towards Jay.

"There it is." She sighed.

"Looks different than before." He pointed out his brows pulling together as he examined the dark purple mixture.

"That's because I realized there was a flaw with velocity 8, so I reformulated the extra cellular matrix and…"

"Velocity nine." He nodded with a wide smile.

"You know what they say… the ninth times the charm." Caitlin shrugged, placing the vile in a tube case on her desk.

With her back towards him, Caitlin pulled her eyes shut, a sudden wave of nausea making her feel light headed. Gripping hard on the edge of her desk, she took a couple of deep breathes to stabilize herself.

"Hey…" a familiar voice rang out.

"Hey Iris you okay?" Jay asked welcoming her in.

"Yeah… I'm just a little worried about the time." She shrugged, placing her phone back into her pocket.

Caitlin caught sight of Iris' concerned expression, offering a weak smile in return.

"Don't worry they'll make it back in time before we close the breach." Jay said confidently nodding towards Iris and then to her.

"Um… I was actually here to talk to you about something else." Catching Iris' eye, Caitlin backed away turning her half attention back to her computer.

"Oh sure what is it?"

"Well my new editor wants me to write a scathing article on the Flash on not being able to protect the city from the raging Geomancer…"

"Really?" Jay stammered wide eyed.

"Yeah really… I was hoping to write an article about _you_ instead." She said nervously, her eyes dropping to the floor.

"I was wondering if we could go grab some coffee and I could write something that would calm people instead… to calm people until Barry got back." She rambled trying to act coolly.

"You know Iris I don't know if that's the best idea." Jay replied, shifting his weight onto his other foot uneasily.

From the corner of Caitlin's eye she saw the disappoint flash across Iris' face.

"Well I thought if people knew that there was someone out there to protect them it would help. Would you just think about it?" she recovered, her smile hiding the sadness in her eyes.

Before Jay could reply a blaring siren wailed throughout the city.

"Some crazy alarm going on." Jay mumbled as they scurried off to turn on the news.

 _"Don't think about running there's a new flash in town… you know… the one with the shiny helmet. Not the speedster I was hoping to crack but let's just see how fast he is in central city."_

"Give me the velocity 9!" Jay shouted, his eyes glued to the screen but his hand outstretched towards Caitlin.

"Jay we have no idea how long it will last." She said, hesitating, the V9 cradled in her hand.

Jay turned to her, his expression hard and serious.

"We don't have time to figure that out Caitlin."

Caitlin took a deep breath before handing over the serum. Caitlin watched as Jay didn't waste a second before injecting himself.

Seeing power in his eyes, Caitlin held her breath as a gush of wind stumbled her back and Jay was gone.

* * *

* _Moments later*_

"Jay!" Iris shouted as they heard him crash against the door frame behind them.

"I'm okay… that just took a lot out of me. But that sure felt good." He laughed, pulling himself up off the floor with the help of Iris by his side.

"That was amazing Jay." Iris beamed.

"Thanks I kind of surprised myself to be honest." He smiled.

With a sigh of relief, Caitlin felt herself relax a little.

"Caitlin deserves all the credit. Looks like your velocity 9 is a winner." He congratulated, with a salute of his hat in his hands.

"I still need to run some tests." She shrugged.

"Iris about the interview… and coffee…"

"I think I have everything that I need." A wide grin spread across her face.

"Great… cause I could really use a nap. I'll be down stairs." He said offering an Iris a wink before turning around and departing.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

 _Knock knock knock_

"Two down, one across." Barry deciphered

"It's J." Jesse calculated as she sat bent over the floor.

"J? Is that what your tapping… the letter J?" Barry nodded eagerly.

Barry watched as the in the iron mask nodded vigorously back towards him.

Barry grinned widely as a sense of hope swelled in his chest. "Alright what's next?"

 _Knock knock_

"A." Jesse said.

"Alright."

 _Knock knock knock knock knock_

"Five down." She paused.

 _Knock knock knock knock_

"Four across. Y."

"J... A.. Y. You're spelling Jay?" Barry calculated as he spelt out the name.

The iron man nodded in confirmation.

"As in Jay Garrick?" Barry asked confused.

He nodded again.

"He's alive, but he's on my earth." Barry explained.

Flinching backwards at the man's sudden reaction, Barry watched unable to stop him from repeatedly hitting his head against his glass prison, clearly aggravated.

"Hey stop… sorry I don't know what you mean. Jay Garrick didn't come with us." He said shaking his head trying to calm the man down.

"Just keep tapping please we don't understand." Jesse pleaded from the other side of the room.

"Please." Barry said with heavy drawn breath.

Just as quickly as Barry blinked his eyes closed, Zoom flashed before them leering over the man in the iron mask.

"Don't talk to them again!" He threatened with a heavy voice.

Barry stepped forward, his face scrunched up in anger. As Zoom crossed the room towards him, Barry stared unflinching into the dark depths of his eyes. Barry watched as Zoom phased his way through the glass cell, slamming against the wall as he held him high by his throat.

Barry choked under the pressure, his hands struggling against his demonic grip.

"I'm going to get out of here and I'm going to destroy you." Barry threatened as he struggled for air.

A smug smile grew across his face releasing Barry as he crumpled to the floor. Barry coughed as the rush of air flooded back into his lungs.

"All I need I need from you is your speed flash. And you only need to be barely alive for me to get it." He laughed before slamming his fist across his face, Barry hitting the floor hard. His head spinning, Barry was too slow and in pain to fight back. Before he could regain his footing and pick himself off the floor, Zoom delivered another crashing blow into his abdomen, stealing all of the air from his lungs. A sharp pain echoed though his chest as he felt his ribs crack under the relentless pursuit of his attacks.

"STOP!" he heard Jesse scream.

"STOP!"

Zoom laughed as he towered over Barry's limp body before flashing away in a storm of blue lightning.

Barry saw the faint outline of Jesse run to the edge of her cell. Her eyes straining towards him.

"Barry? Barry are you okay?" she cried.

"Yeah… I'm okay." Barry coughed, nursing his ribs as he pulled himself upright wincing in pain.

"Zoom just showed me how to get out of this thing."

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

Caitlin stared frozen as she saw the results on screen.

"I can't believe it!" Caitlin screamed unable to stop herself before the words fell out of her mouth.

"What is it?" Iris yelped startled, turning to face her with a concerned expression across her face.

Caitlin blinked rapidly, waiting for her heart rate to slow and her brain to process what she just discovered.

"Caitlin?" Iris pressed worried.

Clearing her throat, Caitlin closed the window and pulled up another screen, before turning her attention to Iris, a forced smile spreading across her face.

"I think I just figured out how to save Jay's life." She voiced maybe a little too loudly.

Watching Iris suddenly bounce excitedly on her chair, Caitlin pushed back what she found out to the back of her mind as she joined Iris in a small but welcomed win.

"He Jay… wake up. Come to the cortex it's important." Caitlin said over the speakers.

"It certainly is!"

Caitlin jumped back, startled by the foreign voice behind her. Staring at the man they had been chasing, Caitlin drew a sharp breath as she began staggering backwards trying to create distance between her and Geomancer as he stalked his way towards her, a sly smile spreading across his face.

"What do you want?" Caitlin stammered, bumping into Iris behind her.

"I like to watch heroes fall and not get up." He laughed.

"They always get up!" Caitlin spat back.

"Not when the world swallows you whole."

Just as he raised his fist and plummeted it down hard against the concrete ground beneath them, Caitlin grabbed Iris by the hand pulling her after her as she began to escape. Stumbling over her footing as the earth shook under them, Caitlin staggered her way through S.T.A.R Labs. Breathless, Caitlin looked over her shoulder, never stopping as Geomancer followed closely behind them. Stalking them with a deadly grin.

Pushing Iris into Cisco's workshop, Caitlin scurried around the room looking for the boot. _Where the hell was it?!_ She yelled internally as she frantically sought out the weapon.

"Where is it?" she cried, shaking as she rummaged through the mess.

"Don't go where having so much fun!" His voice rang out in the near distance.

Just as Caitlin's eyes fell upon the gun, she raced over towards it, suddenly the solid ground beneath her felt weak as everything trembled with ferocity. Reaching out Caitlin's fingers curled around the weapon before the shelving came falling towards her, hitting her hard on the side of the head and then everything around her fell into darkness.

With a splitting pain echoing from her temple, Caitlin peeled open her eyes, seeing Iris knocked down her eyes glued to the mad man above her, her whole body trembling in fear.

"Let's see what a seven does to S.T.A.R Labs." He laughed.

Pushing the pain aside, Caitlin made hast and hoisted herself back up, grabbing the gun she stealthily manoeuvred her way behind him, catching him off guard as she fired the power dampening boot, paralysing him as he fell to the floor unconscious.

"Nice shot." Iris huffed out relieved, slumping back to the ground.

"I was aiming for his leg." Caitlin shrugged, dropping the gun beside her as she felt her whole body shaking.

Suddenly, with the adrenaline slowly wearing off, Caitlin stumbled back losing consciousness for half a second.

"You okay?" Iris said worried, racing to her side, helping her stand upright.

"Yeah just a little bump but I should be fine with an ice pack." Caitlin lied waving Iris off with a smile.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

Throwing his body against the wall, Barry huffed out in frustration.

"GOD! GOD!" he cursed slamming his fists hard against his glass prison.

"Are you sure you want to keep doing that. If Zoom comes back he'll hurt you again." Jesse warned frightened.

"I just don't understand why I can't phase through this." Barry whispered, staring at the clear impenetrable glass.

"Well your body needs the same resonates as the glass walls." Jesse pointed out.

"I should be going fast enough it's something else." Barry explained with a heavy sigh.

"Maybe you're resonating at a different frequency?"

"Yeah your earth resonates at a different frequency from my earth. That's why Cisco can't vibe."

"Is there any way to make up the difference?"

"Only if I can go faster."

Taking a deep breath, Barry stepped back, his face set and resolute. He was going to get out of here. One way or another he was going to keep his promise.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

Caitlin stood leaning against her desk, nursing an icepack to the back of her head. Instinctively, her hand smoothed over her stomach.

"Do you really think that handcuffs can stop me?" Geomancer seethed as he struggled against Joe's grip.

"I know they can. Just like this boot on your neck. It dampens your powers. Same goes for the 6 by 6 cell you'll be calling home at Iron heights. Alright let's go." He laughed, pushing him forward.

Caitlin's gaze followed them out, as Joe paused by the door way he looked at Caitlin for a brief moment. Nodding that she was fine, Joe left feeling a bit more relieved.

"Caitlin. I'm so sorry I didn't come sooner." Jay apologized, picking up chucks of scattered fragments from the floor.

"It's okay. Can I show you something?" she said, sliding her hand from her head and moving around to the computer which to her surprise still seemed to be working.

Leaning over the key board, Caitlin's fingers scrambled across the board, pulling up Jay's latest test results.

"My cells. They've stopped degenerating. How is this possible?" he voiced surprised.

Caitlin flinched back, at the proximity of Jay right by her shoulder. Straightening up, Caitlin stepped back creating a bit of distance between them.

"It appears when the velocity 9 was in your system it kick started your latent healing capabilities… and your cells are repairing themselves." She explained clearing her throat as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"Do you think that you can make this permanent?" he pressed optimistically.

"I don't know but I think that we're on the right track." Caitlin shrugged a hopeful smile spreading across her face.

"Caitlin I don't know what to say… this is… you are…" he stammered, edging closer to her.

As Jay drew closer to her, Caitlin tightened her hands around herself, her mouth opening to protest when a loud bang shook the ground beneath them.

"What was that?" Caitlin asked frightened.

"The speed canon. Geomancers tremors must have damaged it." Jay concluded.

"Okay come on… come on." He waved as both of them tore off to the basement.

* * *

* _Basement*_

Stepping into the room, Caitlin shut her eyes against the burst of light that erupted from the stabilizers. Seeing the state of the room, Caitlin caught her breath. _No!_

"The breach isn't stabilized. We need to fix this fast." Jay screamed over sparks of noise.

"Or else they might never come back." She whispered, suddenly paralysed as she stared into the chaos before her.

"So that was the sound we heard." Iris mumbled as she threw her arm in front of her eyes to avoid the burst of bright sparks lighting up the place at unpredictable intervals.

"Please tell me it isn't as bad as it looks." Joe prayed as he looked towards Caitlin.

Caitlin's mouth grew dry. A heavy sinking feeling swirled at the pit of her stomach. As she looked at Joe her mouth open, yet no words came out.

"Seriously?"

'They still have an hour left. What if they're trying to get through the breach right now and they can't?" Iris pointed out looking at the time on her phone.

"Okay the jolt is trapped to the quark matter, the electrometric insulators are failing." Jay explained as he examined the readings on the monitor parallel to her.

"How do we fix this in time?" Caitlin said with urgency.

"I don't think we can."

And with those words it felt as if the whole world around her began to shatter. _No he has to come back! He promised!_

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

Tired and weak, Barry took a break as he sat down in the corner of his cell. He'd been trying to escape for about half a day already and he was no closer to getting out. Staring at his glass obstacle, there was half a seconds thought where Barry felt all lost hope. He isn't fast enough. He isn't fast enough to stop Zoom. Powerless, it killed him to know he was going to have to break his promise. _Caitlin please forgive me._ He said as he sank his head down.

"Barry?... Barry?" A voice screamed out for him.

Snapping his head up, Barry scrambled to his feet as he edged towards the glass.

"Cisco!" Barry yelled out a rush of relief and hope coursing through him.

"Dude we made it!" Cisco huffed out reaching out on the other side of the glass.

Barry leaned his forehead against the clear wall, letting out a deep breath.

"How did you find this place?" Barry whispered staring around at the other people around him.

"We had a little help… and don't get me started on this guy… oh boy." Cisco rolled his eyes.

Smiling as Cisco's sarcasm, Barry's eyes caught Dr Wells running towards his daughter.

"Dr Wells." Barry breathed out softly.

"Stand back." Harry said breathlessly as he ripped open the iron gates blocking him from his daughter.

A genuine smile broke out on Barry's face as he saw Harry pull his daughter furiously to him.

"I'm here. I'm here. Come on let's get you out of here." Harry cooed, his arms protectively wrapped around his daughter.

Harry started yanking at the chain unable to release her. Anxiously looking around him, Barry followed his gaze to where she stood.

"Frost?"

 _Caitlin._

"A little help?" He pleaded with her.

"Not part of the deal." She shrugged coolly.

"FROST!"

Barry's mouth went dry looking at her. How much she was Caitlin but wasn't.

"Hey, hey bringing us up here wasn't part of the deal either yet here you are." Cisco reminded her.

"Maybe not."

Suddenly, Killer Frost looked towards Barry, catching his eye for a brief moment; she looked away and made her way over to Jesse. Using her powers she set Jesse free into her father's arms.

Without a second's hesitation, she stalked over to Barry. Barry kept his eyes on her, unwavering stare as she tried breaking Barry out.

"What's going on… why isn't it working?" Cisco stammered impatiently.

"I don't know. I've never had this problem before." She brushed off, stepping back examining the glass her eyes falling back to Barry.

"Dr Wells?" Barry pressed, his eyes never leaving the ice blue ones staring back at him.

"Carbon… carbon this cell is made out of some kind of carbon. You'll never be able freeze him out of there."

"You can't phase out of there?" Cisco suggested.

Barry drew a sharp breath and shook his head. With the last shred of hope gone Barry tore his eyes away from Killer Frost to Cisco.

"Just go. Alright? Before zoom comes back." Barry rushed.

"We're not leaving you here." Cisco exclaimed at the idea.

"I can't get out of this cell. I've tried a lot. I'm not fast enough to faze through this. You guys have... just leave alright… and… and tell Caitlin I love her." He trailed off glancing back to Killer Frost as he did so.

"Tell her I'm sorry I broke my promise. Tell her tried everything to get back to her. Tell her I'll always love her. Will you?" he pleaded, his eyes glistening with tears.

"Barry…" Cisco began.

"Cisco…" he begged desperately.

"Okay." He nodded.

"Okay just leave." Barry said swallowing hard.

Just as Cisco turned to leave, Barry caught a glimpse of himself, his Earth 2 doppelganger, step out of the shadow and approach him.

"No." he objected.

Standing in front of Barry he continued.

"Do you know what we did to get here Barry? We convinced… _her_ … Killer Frost to show us the way…" Barry peeped over Earth 2 Barry's shoulder to her and back.

"Then we climbed some very steep cliffs outside on foot holes made of ice... _ice._ Then we risked our lives knowing what was after us just to save Jesse… and you. Now I don't know you and you don't know me. But I can tell you that today, I did things. Things I never thought possible. I need to prove to my wife and to myself that I could. SO if I could do the impossible today so could you. Look I'm just Barry Allen…. But you're the Flash. If you tell yourself you can do it. Then you can."

All though inspired, Barry still doubted himself, shaking his head. They were wasting time. It would be a matter of time before Zoom got back… and they needed to go.

"Guys…"

"He's right." Her icy voice broke through the dramatic tension.

Stepping back to she was face to face with him, she scanned over his body with an icy gaze.

"You can get out of there _Flash_. And if these idiots believe in you then you should too. Don't give them a weepy excuses of broken promises… if you love her like I think you do, don't just stand behind there proclaiming your love and do something about it. Do it Flash."

Her voice echoing through his mind, Barry nodded, inhaling a sharp breath he stepped closer to the glass. Closing his eyes for a split second, he cleared everything from his mind. Focusing on the speed force fuelling his power, his mind centring his thoughts of Caitlin and his need to get back to her. Opening his eyes, Barry sped up the cells in his body, lifting his hand towards the glass, Barry pressed forward, staggering out to the other side.

Smiling, Cisco pushed past Killer Frost taking Barry into a massive bear hug.

"Okay let's go." Harry said with urgency.

"Go!" He ushered to everyone, diverting to the man in the iron mask.

"Barry!" Harry's rang out.

"Hey… hey were not leaving him." Barry protested.

"Barry there's no time." He yelled back.

"He's not going anywhere and neither are any of you. Thank you for bringing them to me."

"You doubled crossed us. He killed Ronnie."

"Guess my heart was as cold as you thought after all."

"I can't believe you. Just so you know… you would be very disappointed in you right now."

"Zoom… let them go."

"All you need is me and Barry."

"Your right, I may not be able to kill you yet, but I can kill them."

"I told you that I'd kill you in front of your father."

"Get out of here."

"Caitlin?"

"You're right he killed Ronnie."

"Thank you."

"I'm not leaving without him"

"Barry… Barry there's no time we have to get out of here."

"I can't hold him forever."

"Okay... okay I'll come back for you. When this is all done I'll come back for you." He promised.

Before speeding everyone out, Barry looked over his shoulder.

"Thank you."

"Go!" she yelled back at him.

 _"Go!"_ Her voice rang out behind him.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

Caitlin stood frozen with tears streaming down her face.

"Jay we need to do something." She hiccupped unable to control her emotions.

"The only chance we have is to reboot the electrometric insulators and hope that the quark matter stabilizes." He explained to Joe, ignoring Caitlin's pleas.

"How do we do that?" Joe asked.

"We have to do that manually." Jay said shakily.

"But you can't be near the stabilizers or you'll be pulled into the breach." Caitlin raised concern as she snapped back into reality with a sudden urgency.

"Not unless I create a vortex that will counteract the pull." He explained.

"But you can't do both."

"For you I have to try."

Caitlin opened her mouth but was lost for words.

"I'll help you." Joe interjected before she could find the words.

"What? Dad no!" Iris protested standing in front of her father.

"Look if it beings Barry back to this Earth than I'll do it." He replied back with finality.

"You sure?"

"The more we talk about the less sure I'll be. So let's do it." Joe repeated, scouting around the girls with Jay down towards the breach.

"Okay there is an override switch on every stabilizer ring. I'll create the vortex and you'll flip all of them. They should all reboot." He explained to Joe, pointing out the switches at the nearest stabilizer.

"Got it." Joe nodded, taking off his jacket and tossing in across the room.

"Once that's done you turn on the canon and the breach should stabilize." Jay directed at her.

Composing herself, Caitlin went behind the switch, her fingers curled around the latch ready.

"And what if it doesn't?" Iris mumbled.

"We're all out of luck." He breathed out heavy.

Caitlin waited restlessly, as Jay zipped up his suit and began creating a vortex while Joe raced around flipping the switches. Looking down at the small panel before her, Caitlin counted down the stabilizers turned green one by one.

Looking up, she notices as Jay seemed to slow slightly.

"The velocity 9 is running out."

In the longest second she could count, Joe had finally reached forward locking the last switch and immediately Caitlin pushed over the latch stabilizing the breach. The pull of the breach threw Jay out knocking him across the floor. Caitlin rushed down the small flight of stairs towards him.

"Jay?" she whispered concerned.

"Well at least we know how long the velocity 9 lasts!" he laughed slumping back against the wall.

"Joe you okay?" Caitlin looked up at her father – in- law as Iris came to his side.

"Yeah I just hope they are." He said breathlessly.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

Peeling off his mask, Barry made his way over to the Allen's.

"Hey you okay?" he asked both of them.

"Yeah I'm just a mess." Earth 2 Barry huffed out untangling himself from his bow tie.

"You guys need to get out of Central City alright. Any place you think you'll be safe from Zoom." He advised them heavily.

"Yeah okay… we have some family down in Atlantis that will help us." Iris agreed, taking her husband's hand into hers.

"Alright good." Earth 2 Barry smiled, squeezing his wife's hand.

Barry smiled. The way he looked at her, it only reminded him how eager he was to get home. Get home to his own wife.

"You might not have been struck by lightning over here like I was… but today you risked your life to save someone that you didn't even know. That's a hero Barry. Thank you both."

Smiling, Barry turned to take his leave when Iris stopped him.

"Barry…" she began unsure.

"Is my father still alive on your earth?" she said shakily.

"Yes he is." Barry nodded before looking down at her hands.

"Give him a hug for me will you." She said wiping a single tear from her cheek.

Barry reached out taking her into a quick sympathetic hug. "I will." He promised before letting her go.

"You guys need to go somewhere safe too. Do you know where you'll go?" Cisco asked looking at Harry and Jesse.

"The only place we can go."

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

Caitlin stood in the middle of the room, staring at the breach… waiting for any sign of their return. Nervously twisting her wedding band, Caitlin's right hand instinctively moved over her stomach.

"It's almost time!" Caitlin said forcing her voice to stay level and calm everything she was not at the moment.

"I don't care what time it is. After everything we did to stabilize this breach we're not closing it until they show up. Ya'll here me?" He said pointedly at Jay holding the breach bomb.

Caitlin smiled at her father – in – law, nodding in understanding; she turned her attention back to the breach.

"Cisco?" Joe whispered his eyes widening as he stumbled out of the breach breathless.

"Get ready to close the breach soon!" he yelled.

"We're good…" he said looking to Caitlin.

At his words a part of her relaxed but she couldn't relax entirely… not until she saw him with her own eyes.

"Zoom's coming!" He yelled looking at Jay with the bomb.

Caitlin saw as Jay tensed for a moment. Catching her eye his muscles tensed under his suit as he tightened his grip around the football sized weapon, aiming it towards the breach.

"It shouldn't be taking this long." Caitlin pointed out, her voice strained and tense.

As Caitlin stepped forward waiting impatiently, until the breach moved again and Barry along with Wells stepped through the breach.

"Close it! Close it now!" Barry shouted!

After that moment everything seemed like a blur. The room and chaos melted around her as Barry spun around his eyes seeking out for hers. As his eyes meet hers, Caitlin felt the tears streak back down her face. Barry reached out to her, his steps quick and determined as he closed the distance. His hands grabbing either side of her face he reached down crashing his lips to hers in a desperate need for her.

"You did it. You made it." She whispered against his lips.

Her eyes still closed, she leaned her forehead against his, her heart beating fast Caitlin didn't want to let him go.

Caitlin lifted her head as she heard the bang of the bomb making contact with the breach.

Stepping forward out of Barry's hand, she watched as the breach began to collapse on itself. Jay had walked up towards the platform.

Rushing to him, Caitlin didn't know where to begin to say how thankful she was. Just as she began trying to figure out just what to say, Zoom's hand reached out through the breach straight through Jay's heart.

"NOOOO!"

And then there was just darkness.


	14. Secrets & Distractions

**_So here is the much awaited next installment to the story. Enjoy!_**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own the Flash nor it's characters._**

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

She gleamed up at him as he tried to make his way back down to her. _How could she ever repay him?_ Struggling to find the words to express just how grateful she was, Caitlin opened her mouth to speak when Zoom's hand tore through the breach straight through Jay's heart.

"NOOOOO!"

Then everything around was drowned out by darkness.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

"CAIT!" Barry's voice cried out as he sped towards her catching her before she fell to the ground.

"Caitlin…" he whispered cradling her in his arms as he soothed a hand over her cheek pleading her to wake up.

Stirring in his arms, Barry closed his eyes as he let out a sigh of relief. She was okay.

"Barry is she okay?" Joe pressed hovering over them.

"I think she just fainted." Barry said, staring down at his wife seriously concerned.

"I think you should check her out. We had a bit of trouble while you were gone and she got knocked down pretty bad. But she said it was just a small bump on the head." Iris explained.

"Here let us take her." Cisco said reaching out for her.

Barry looked up at Cisco.

"I got her." He promised.

Nodding Barry reluctantly shifted Caitlin into Cisco and Iris' arms. Both of them carried Caitlin carefully to the med bay with Jesse closely following.

"Open it up…" Barry stammered as he ran his hands through his hair staring at the empty void where the breach used to be.

"Allen…" Harry spoke.

"I need to go back!" Barry shouted his emotions running high.

"I can't do that."

"OPEN IT BACK UP!" he spat at Harry.

"Allen!... the breaches are closed… _All_ the breaches are closed." He replied sympathetically.

"Why can't we just open one back up?" Joe asked from behind Barry.

"The quark matter energy that we used to seal the breaches… it prevents them from being opened." He mumbled shaking his head softly from side to side.

"Ever. Again. It prevents us going back to our Earth."

"We're trapped her for good?"

Barry spun around to see Jesse looking pointedly at her father.

"Yes." He said softly.

"We can't let Zoom get away with this… He just _murdered_ Jay right in front of us!"

"There's got to be something we can do."

"There's not… not this time. It's over." Harry said with flatly.

"I can't…"

"Barry… If you want to do something, go to your wife's side. Caitlin needs you. Go be with her."

Barry shook his head in denial as he stared at Harry. Brushing past his adoptive father, Barry stormed out of the basement, making a beeline to the med bay.

* * *

* _Med bay*_

"How is she doing?" Barry whispered as he approached Cisco, standing guard by the door.

"She just fainted… Iris said she's been working non-stop since we left and with Geomancer…" Cisco began before Barry interrupted.

"Who's Geomancer?" Barry asked, tearing his eyes away from Caitlin to look at Cisco bewildered.

"Some meta they were chasing… he causes tremors… anyways Caitlin got knocked down lightly." Cisco shrugged before continuing.

"Is she okay though?" He asked concerned.

"Yeah she's fine. She was awake before so I sat with her until she fell asleep. We're running tests anyway to be sure."

"Thanks Cisco." Barry smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Any time man." Cisco nodded.

"Man she's been through a lot, first with Ronnie twice and her father when she was young and now Jay… I'm just afraid what this double dose of grief is going to do to her. I mean she was pretty shell shocked."

"She'll be fine."

Barry turned around to see Harry approach them.

"Snow's strong. She'll get past this. We all will." He stated before leaving.

Turning back to his wife, Barry looked over her with a heavy heart.

"In the meantime…" Harry's voice rang to them low as if not to wake Caitlin.

"… I would not say anything to her about her counterpart from my earth. That goes for Joe and Iris too." He warned them.

"Why?" Barry questioned.

"Because you don't want to influence their reality in ways it should not be influenced."

"Like in the same way that Barry time travels?"

"Exactly and also what's the point? None of those people are your people… their lives are not your lives. Never were and never will be. Bury it. Move on. Yes?"

"Yeah. That I can do." Cisco sighed.

"Allen?" Harry questioned.

Barry nods.

"You guys should get some rest. Barry take your wife home." He advised Barry before leaving the room.

"Yeah." He whispered under his breath.

Shrugging his shoulder off the side door frame, Barry cautiously made his way over to her. A smile crept over his lips as he watched her sleep. _He was home._ Gently soothing his hand over her head, Barry leaned down kissing her softly on her temple. Barry felt Caitlin stir under his lips, her eyes fluttering slowly awake.

"Hey…" she smiled groggily at him.

"Hi… how you feeling?" he looked at her concerned, their faces still just inches away from each other.

"Better now that you're home. I've missed you." She said her smiled fading and the truth burning in her eyes.

"I've missed you too." He mumbled kissing her on the lips again.

 _You don't know how much._

"You alright to go?" he whispered against her lips.

"Go where?"

"Home." She smiled.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

Dropping her jacket on the kitchen counter, Caitlin rounded to the sink, reaching for a glass she filled it up with water. Taking a sip, she let the cold chill of the liquid soothe her. Caitlin felt as Barry wrapped himself around her, embracing her from behind. Caitlin drew a deep breath as his hands rounded over her stomach. Spinning around in his arms, Caitlin let herself be reeled into his arms. Every time he touched her, she felt a twisting in her stomach and a rush of desire through every part of her. Barry kissed her a spark of electricity ignited her blood. She kissed him back harder than before. He wrapped his hands around her, hoisting her onto the kitchen counter. Opening her mouth so that his tongue could explore hers more deeply, Caitlin moaned, distracted by the bulge in his jeans and the feel of it against her as he pressed closer between her legs. Caitlin ran her hands down his back, letting them trail to his side and up under his shirt. Feeling the coil of his muscles, Caitlin didn't wait another second before tearing his top over him. Only then did their lips part. Pulling her back to him, Caitlin locked her legs around his waist as Barry pulled her off the counter and began making his way to the bedroom.

Connected in every way, Barry lowered Caitlin gently on to the sheets of the bed. They moved tighter, closer, neither one of them knowing who was pulling them together. After everything that happened, life was too short. She wanted to feel him… to feel every inch of him. Everything vanished around them, her worries vanished as his lips were on hers. Biting on his bottom lip, caused Barry to open his mouth, Caitlin slid her tongue into his mouth and a hot heaviness too over her body. In the next heated second, Barry had torn off her clothes so nothing was left between them. Looking down at her, his eyes connected with hers. Barry stared at her with a longing she couldn't quite explain. In the moment where all their emotions were torn and their world around them crumbled down to their feet once again, all the space between them over the past 48 hours melted away and all that she wanted was him. All that she needed was him. In that moment as he looked into her eyes she saw a hidden desperation grow. Leaning back down, his lips found hers once again.

* * *

 _As the next couple of days went by Caitlin notice that none of them ever talked about. She caught glances… moments of silence between them as if they had a secret understanding they couldn't speak of. As Caitlin noticed the subtle changes in her husband… in her best friend… and Harry, bringing up the topic brought about awkward silence as they all tried to pretend to forget all about what happened to them over at Earth two. Between the three of them, they tried to get on with their lives as if there was nothing they could do to stop Zoom. And as the days went on, instead of talking about it, Jay's death began to take a toll on all of them. It had left scars on everyone, some more than others. As Caitlin watched over Barry, she noticed his determination to keep on running. She didn't know what happened to them over there, and the lack of communication… Caitlin grew tired and frustrated. Barry spent his nights trying to distract himself from the surreal other life he had experienced, and spent most of his time running. Searching and waiting for some other metahuman threat to rear its ugly head and distract them all from the frustration they were feeling. And as fate would have it they wouldn't have to wait long._

* * *

* _S.T.A.R Labs*_

With Barry spending some time over at the West's, Caitlin buried herself in her work. The only other distraction she had to keep her mind of how she failed another person.

With so many thoughts plaguing her mind, Caitlin smoothed her hand to rest over her stomach. Guilt ridden, she closed her eyes at the thought of having another person she could fail… and thought made her sick.

"Hey so I have been thinking… you've been working round the clock. Maybe get some rest… go home? Maybe getting a nice sleep isn't the worst thing in the world." Cisco mumbled cautiously as he approached her.

Straightening herself back upright, Caitlin looked up at Cisco tired and a little moody.

"I'm fine." She replied bluntly.

Caitlin threw herself back into her work, dodging the startled reaction Cisco had plastered over his face.

"Okay I get it… you're having a hard time with everything that's happened. It's a lot to take in... and after everything you've been thr-"

Caitlin drew a deep breath. She hated being as she was so fragile and was about to break. _Yes she was hurting. Yes she was sad. Hell she was angry but so was everyone else._

"I said I'm fine!" she cut him of flatly before pushing herself from the desk and storming out, needing to find a space to breath.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

After finding Caitlin wasn't home, Barry sped over to S.T.A.R Labs. Getting off the elevator, Barry walked through the lab towards the cortex.

Peeking around the corner, he saw Cisco leaning against the desk, his mouth open in awe.

"Hey is Cait here?" Barry asked, his brows creasing together in curiosity as he followed his gaze to find nobody in his line of sight.

"Did you hear that?" He exclaimed shocked as he pointed in the general direction to the right.

"No what?" Barry shrugged looking back at his friend.

"Caitlin just bit my head off! She's been all business, no emotion lately it's like she's… _cold_." Cisco cried.

" _Cold_? Come on Cisco!"

"This could be the beginning of her becoming evil. You're not worried about that? She's your wife!"

"I'm not worried about that. Caitlin is not going to become Killer Frost…. You haven't mentioned anything about Earth 2 have you?" Barry pressed.

"No! Because I know how to keep a secret thank you." Cisco replied offended.

"I know. It's just going to take some time for her to process everything. We all do trust me. We just need to keep busy." Barry muttered.

"That shouldn't be a problem." A gruff voice teased.

"Woah." Cisco smiled in surprised.

Barry turned around to see his friends appear out of the shadows of the hallway as they walked towards them.

"Oh hey Dig… Lyla. What you doing here?" Barry asked, hugging both Diggle and Lyla.

"We came here to give you the heads up Barry." Diggle nodded.

"About what?" he asked.

"About a meta human that escaped from A.R.G.U.S custody. Goes by the name King Shark." Lyla informed them.

"King Shark? You mean the half man, half shark that tried to kill you months ago?! I thought that he was dead!?" Cisco exclaimed wide eyed as he looked to Barry for an explanation.

Barry shrugged, confused himself. Unsure of how to answer, he looked to Lyla and Dig.

"That's what A.R.G.U.S wanted to make you believe but they snatched him up. But believe me this half shark is very much alive. And his biological imperative is to do one thing… That's kill you Barry." Diggle warned.

"Pfft." Barry huffed out shaking his head. _What's new…_ he thought.

"We're going to need a bigger Flash." Cisco remarked.

Barry looked at his friend narrowing his eyes in a glaring stare.

* * *

* _Moments later*_

With the new information about King Shark, Barry thought it'd be better to regroup the team. As everyone once again came together, Barry stood behind the desk as both Lyla and Diggle took to the middle of the room.

"So how do you know about King Shark?" Caitlin asked as she eased into one of the computer chairs behind the desk.

"Well as the new director of A.R.G.U.S, Lyla's job is to clean up Amanda Waller's messes. King Shark was one of the bigger and weirder ones." Diggle explained.

"And it appears under her directives A.R.G.U.S had been monitoring metahuman activity over the past two years." Lyla added.

"Why?"

"Obviously thinking those powers could be exploited." Lyla answered.

"Weaponized." Harry stated.

"How do you know he's coming after me?" Barry pointed out his arms crossing across his chest.

"While in our custody he kept on saying the same thing… Zoom wants the Flash dead. And although he removed the tracker we had in him, the readings that we had received showed that he was heading here to Central City." Lyla recited as she pointed to the data streaming across the various screens in the room.

"Let him come!" Barry said flatly.

"Barry?!" Caitlin exclaimed turning to him with a shocked look on her face.

Unwilling to meet her eyes, he kept his attention to Lyla and Dig.

Sensing the uneasy growing tension, as Caitlin's eyes bore into the back of Barry's head, Dig cleared his throat before speaking.

"Barry this thing is a killing machine. We just came here to warn you man. Let A.R.G.U.S handle it." He mumbled trying to defuse the tension.

"Nah I can't do that Dig. I'm sorry but all year we've been sitting ducks for Zoom and all his Earth 2 henchmen. This is the last one. I'm not just going to wait for him to attack I'm going after him first. I owe that to Jay. Well's he's from your earth what do you about him?" Barry replied firmly, turning to Harry with his question.

"I do know this, Dr Shay Lamden… and get this he was a marine biologist before my particle accelerator changed him into king shark and zoom put him under his control."

"So how did you track him when he attacked Barry?" Lyla quizzed.

"Zoom sent him to this earth to kill Barry. I just followed." He shrugged.

"Yeah but you did track Grodd down can you find King Shark too?" Barry pointed out.

"I can try." He nodded, taking another sip from his mug before taking leave to being his work.

"Alright." He whispered under his breath.

"Okay well all these locations are next to a body of water." Barry stated, driving closer to one of the screens, his eyes scanning the information before him.

"It must be only a few hours before he has to go back into water to re-oxygenate his blood." Caitlin muttered, her voice level and curt.

Ignoring her gaze, Barry knew it was driving her insane. But he also knew she was mad at him. But after everything that happened over on Earth 2… barely getting back home, Jay dying… he wasn't going to let anyone else he cared about get hurt. And King Shark was the last threat Zoom sent over and Barry wasn't just going to wait for them to attack. He was going after them before they took anyone or anything her cared about. He already knew the feeling of losing the people he loved most to him and he wasn't about to go and relieve that feeling. Not if he had the power to do something about it.

"I can take the waterfront if your team can handle the rest?" he delegated as he spoke outwardly to Lyla.

"I'll put them on it." She agreed as she pulled out her phone simultaneously to regroup her team.

"Alright what about Dr Lamden's doppelgänger maybe he could help us somehow?" Barry said softly as he approached Caitlin and Cisco, his eyes still avoiding her gaze.

"Or not. Looks like he died when the particle accelerator exploded." Cisco mumbled as he read an article on his death.

"What about next of kin?" Caitlin pointed out, her eyes never leaving Barry.

"He's got a widow Dr Tanya Lamden she's a research scientist at Nautilus Labs and she studies wait for it… _sharks._ "

"Well maybe the two of you can go and see if she's discovered anything in her research that could help us?"

"Sure." Caitlin grunted before pushing herself out of her chair without a seconds glance back.

"Great." Barry gulped knowing just how mad she was at him.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

 _*Nautilus Laboratory*_

Caitlin followed the doctor silently through her lab, before pausing she turned to face Cisco and herself with a stern but curious look on her face.

"It's been two years since you particle accelerator exploded. It seems a little late to be asking questions about my husband doesn't it?"

"Your husband past away from cancer is that correct?" Caitlin said directly.

"Suppose you can say that. It only took three days for every cell in his body to grow uncontrollably. Whatever cancer he had it turned him into something… not human."

"Well that's why we're here actually." Cisco interjected before Caitlin could speak, his quick glance in her direction obvious he didn't like her approach to the situation.

Rolling her eyes, Caitlin could afford to be nice. Barry was putting himself out there once again with the lack of awareness to how much it affected everyone around him. Without the curtesy of thinking how much she needed him now more than ever to come home safe. And even if didn't know it yet, she wouldn't be the only one depending on him to come home. Now she had more than one person in this world to worry about and it killed her that she didn't know the first thing of how to protect them.

"There's a meta human here in Central City whose body seems to have been mutating in the same way as that of your late husband. But he didn't die, he became a dangerous monster." Caitlin explained bluntly.

"My husband was _no_ monster."

"That's not what she was implying." He apologized sincerely, peering over at Caitlin with a sharp glare.

"What does this have to do with me?" she shrugged, eyeing both of them suspiciously.

"We read about the research you were doing here about sharks." Caitlin began.

"Yes I have had some encouraging results. Although still preliminary"

"We need to see it." She said flatly.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Your research all of it!"

"What my colleague means to say is that if you could please let us take look at your findings it could help us stop this metahuman from hurting anytime."

"You're with S.T.A.R Labs… I'm just supposed to trust you?" she whispered unsure.

"Please Mrs Lamden… this could help save lives." Cisco pleaded.

"I'll email you what I have." She replied softly, turning her back leaving.

"Thank you." Cisco called after her.

A grim line set across her face, Caitlin stepped forward to leave, before Cisco side stepped to block her, his expression worried and concerned.

"A little harsh?"

"I was being direct." Caitlin sighed frustrated.

Why was he suddenly questioning her? They needed to get answers and they needed it fast right? Annoyed, she blew out a hot breath before shoving herself past him.

"Yeah well that's one way to describe it." She heard Cisco grumble under his breath.

Pausing, she turned back to face him annoyed.

"You've been acting differently toward me ever since you got back from Earth 2. What's your problem Cisco?" she said with a slight raise in her voice.

"Nothing… let's just go." He muttered.

Rolling her eyes once again in frustration, she began following him out, neither of them speaking.

* * *

* _Back at S.T.A.R Labs*_

As Caitlin scrolled through the meaningless pages of Dr Lamden's research, she blew out a deep breath. Her emotions running high she felt the strain of frustration rise in her chest. _How was any of this going to help them capture King Shark?_

"This is a complete waste of time. We're not going to find anything in Dr Lamden's research to tell us how to find king shark." She yelled as she slammed her fist down on the desk, leaning back into her desk chair covering her face with her hands.

"Maybe I should take a look." Cisco suggested as he walked towards where she sat.

Popping her head out of her hands, Caitlin looked up at Cisco with a nasty glare.

"Oh yeah cause you're the doctor with a speciality in biochem." She spat rhetorically.

"I'm just saying maybe you could use another set of eyes considering…"

"Considering what?" She asked curtly, the anger just simmering.

"Considering the way you have been acting lately." He pointed out defensively.

"What does that mean?" She voiced, her voice rising slightly at his accusation.

"You are not yourself Caitlin. It's freaking me out because you have this icy look in your eye just like you did over there!" he blurted out before he could stop himself.

Caitlin stared at Cisco. _Over there?_ Pushing herself out of her chair slowly, her eyes never breaking contact she moved slowly around the desk towards him.

"Over there? You mean earth 2?" she interrogated.

"No... um... wh—what I meant to say is was that um…" Cisco stammered, stepping back as he shrugged his shoulders.

"You met my doppelgänger on earth 2 didn't you?"

"Wh—what?" he choked out a staged laugh.

"No!" He spoke trying to sound confident in his answer.

But Caitlin knew him too well. He was lying.

"Cisco?"

"Look I'm not supposed to say anything."

"Why not?" she whispered.

"Because I'm not supposed to say anything!" he repeated.

"Francisco Ramon if you don't start talking..." She shouted edging closer to him, almost towering over him as he struggled with his resolve.

"Okay. Fine! Yes I met you doppelgänger. She's a cold hearted ice queen named Killer Frost, a metahuman who enjoyed killing… _a lot_! There... Great! Now Harry's going to kill me and throw myself across the room." Cisco finished shakily, holding himself up on the desk trying to find it in himself to breath.

In a moments beat, Caitlin was frozen. She certainly wasn't expecting that answer. Was this why he… why Barry seemed a little distant lately? Then her mood couldn't have helped things. Taking a deep breath, Caitlin looked to her friend, her expression softening, after seeing the fright in his eyes.

"Cisco… I'm not a metahuman." She reminded him softly.

"Okay I here you but your acting just like she did over there. You're being shut off, your being detached… your being _cold_."

"Because I have to be right now." She sighed.

"I just watched Jay got killed right in front of my eyes and just when I found out I was pregnant. It just made me question if I could really live this life… when something _good_ happens it feels like its always short live. When Jay died, it made me think of how I lost my father. I really thought I could save Jay's life like I couldn't do for my father. I thought I could do all this and have a baby but I don't know if I can Cisco. This life… today when Barry stood up willing King Shark to come after him, I realized that that's his life. His purpose. Yes, I'm angry. Yes, I'm frustrated. It's because I know I can never take that… this life away from him. But beyond all that anger and frustration, I'm just scared Cisco. I don't know if I can do this. I don't know if ill have to do this alone…"

"Why would you need to do it alone? You haven't told him yet have you?"

Caitlin shakes her head. Her eyes dropping to the floor.

"In the life that we live, I don't know if I can put our child in danger. And I can't make he chose. I won't."

Pausing, Caitlin took a deep breath and looked back up at her friend.

"All I know is that if I think about this too much… if I let in all that emotion, I don't think I'll be able to stop crying and not just because of the hormones. So please… I need to keep working. I need to make sure Barry's safe. There's nothing else I can do. So please stop worrying about me. I may be cold… I may be distant but I just need to be. So can we please get back to this research so we can find King Shark?"

"Okay." He whispered, nodding.

Caitlin drew a small and weak smile.

"Thank you." She mouthed as she began to return to her desk.

"Hey Cait…" Cisco called.

Turning a glance over her shoulder, Caitlin stopped.

"What?"

"For what it's worth… congratulations."

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

After luring King Shark away from his family, Barry sped back into his clothes and sped his way down stairs.

"Hey… hey you guys… you all okay?" he asked out of breath.

"Yeah, yeah we're fine." Joe muttered looking around at the chaos around him.

"Where did you go? Go hide under your bed?" Wally spat harshly.

Barry opened and shut his mouth unable to find the words.

"Wally! Come on!" Iris shouted.

"You know Joe and Iris told me a lot about you… made it out like you could walk on water or something but never mention anything about you being a coward." He seethed disgusted at the sight of Barry.

His head hanging, Barry took in Wally's words. There was nothing that Wally said that Barry wasn't already thinking in one form or another.

"Okay ENOUGH!" Joe bellowed angry.

Wally looked to his father. After a moment he shook his head to the side in frustration. Scrapping up his coat from the floor he pulled open the door. Barry watched after him as he stopped short in front of someone. Sighing a heated breath, Wally brushed by Caitlin on his way out.

"See you guys later." He mumbled under his breath.

"Dad you need to talk to him." Iris retorted as she resumed cleaning.

"Hey…" Barry whispered, getting up and walking over to Caitlin.

Caitlin ushered herself inside the house closing the door behind her.

"Hey you guys okay?" she asked worried as she took in the destroyed living room.

"We're fine. Thanks for asking." Joe smiled.

"And sorry about Wally." He shrugged apologetically.

"No, don't apologize Joe." Barry said firmly.

"I get it. Look I know you guys love me but please stop talking to Wally about all this great stuff about me. At least tell him the truth I'm not perfect. I make mistakes even the Flash can't fix." Barry huffed out emotionally exhausted as he sat himself on the bottom of the stairs, burying his head into his hands.

"Okay what happened with you? On earth 2? The truth." Joe ordered bluntly.

"I shouldn't tell you guys this but um… I met your doppelgangers…" he began looking around at the faces in the room.

"You were a cop in the family. A good one too." He smiled towards Iris.

"Ahhh I told you I would have made a good cop." She teased mockingly at her father.

"Don't go getting any ideas. What about me then?" Joe smirked excitedly.

As Barry spoke Caitlin, came to sit herself beside him, taking his hand in hers.

"You were a lounge singer. Yeah you had this amazing voice actually… um but you didn't like me… at all. You actually blamed me for Iris becoming a cop saying that she only became one to help her selfish _husband's_ career." Barry's voice trailed off, scared to meet Caitlin in the eye mentioning that in that world they weren't together.

"Wait? We were married?" Iris stammered her mouth hanging open in disbelief.

"Hmmm…" he nodded.

"We went to go see Joe perform and that's when everything went wrong. Um some _meta's…_ " Barry paused for a heartbeat, making a quick glance to where Caitlin stood.

 _"…_ They worked for Zoom and showed up there. They were looking for me and they knew I wasn't supposed to be there and they attacked and… _you…_ " he emphasised looking to Joe.

"…Got caught in the crossfire and… you died." He finished stifling a cry as he brushed a stranded tear from his cheek.

There was dead silence in the room. Barry took the opportunity to clear his throat and steady his voice before continuing.

"I knew it wasn't you and that none of that was this life but… but watching it happen in front of me… living that… it didn't feel any different because it was all still real. And Jay warned me not to get emotionally sucked in when I went there and that's exactly what happened. Now, Joe West on earth 2 is dead because _I_ showed up."

"Bar that's not your fault."

"Yeah it's my fault! It's all my fault. King shark… Jay's death it's all because of me. And then I just left an entire world at Zooms mercy."

Unable to take the sympathetic looks of his family, Barry gathered himself up, slipping his hand out of Caitlin's he quickly kissed her on the top of her head before rushing himself out of the house.

Barry stood outside, his breath creating small pale clouds of hot smog as he exhaled. Staring out into the stars above, he took a deep breath closing he eyes he tried to forget about the pain, longing and hopelessness he felt when he was there. For a few moments by himself Barry tried to enjoy the quiet. The creaking of the front door opening and closing behind him he knew he was no longer alone.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

Caitlin didn't speak. Closing the door as quietly as she could behind her, she took a few steps making her way over to him. Barry stood with his back turned to her, unwavering as he stared out into the night. Caitlin stopped to stand next to him, her own eyes glued out into the abyss. She didn't know what to say. Barry was carrying this pain around with him. A pain she did know well. And she knew nothing other than time could heal. Shivering at the cold, Caitlin wrapped her arms around herself. Her thoughts racing. So much was happening around her… Jay… King Shark… Killer Frost… Barry's grief… _the baby_. With her life in chaos she felt so overwhelmed she didn't know what to do. One thing was for sure… she needed to tell Barry.

What felt like thousands of minutes of her lost in her thoughts were in reality mere seconds. She didn't even realize that Barry had wrapped his arms around her holding her close to his chest until she felt the warmth of his body ease into her.

Leaning into his chest, she knew there is where she belonged. How could she tell him they were pregnant? It was good news right? Or at least that's how she felt. But how would he feel?

Closing her eyes to muster up the courage to say it Caitlin opened her mouth about to confess when both of their phones suddenly buzzed, pulling them away from their quiet moment.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

"Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the suburbs… KING SHARK shows up at your house." Cisco bellowed raising his hands just to let them fall back to his sides in a thud.

"Man I don't even know how he found me. It's not like I was the Flash when I was at home." Barry explained.

"There must be a reason." Harry stated, taking another gulp of his coffee.

"Have you figured out a way to track down King Shark yet?"

"I don't have enough information to create an accurate algorithm." Harry replied shaking his head apologetically.

"What about Dr Lamden's research? Find anything that could help us?"

"I didn't think so at first but then I found something that I think could help us."

"Sharks are predators and in order to track their prey use what's known as passive electro-location."

"Passive electro-location?"

"Yes that's how the sense the bio electro potential around the fishes body."

"King shark sense the electricity in Barry's system." Harry said with a proud smirk.

"Okay that explains how King Shark can track Barry and how does that help us track him?" Lyla pointed out.

"We flip it. Instead of King Shark being the predator we make him the prey and we tracking him using _active_ elector location." Caitlin proposed.

"We can reprogram our satellites to generate a specific electro field then measure any electrical distortions according to a one ton walking shark." Cisco added enthusiastically.

"That will help us get him." Harry concurred with a cheer of his mug towards Caitlin.

"You gonna help me out?" he mumbled to his daughter with a smile.

"Sure." She beamed excitedly following her father out of the cortex.

"Great. Let us know when you locate him and we'll take it from there."

"Yeah okay."

"Let's get the team ready."

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

Barry shivered against the cold, as the light down pour of rain, created a curtain of fine mist by the waterfront. Stumbling down the uneven planks of rotten wood, Caitlin felt as Barry's hands caught her by the waist helping her back up. A smile crossed her lips as she mouthed a thank you. Barry didn't her go, instead he smoothed his hand up to her hands, curling his fingers around hers as the made their way down to the end of the dock.

"What exactly is that?" Diggle muttered, his eyes squinting to the distance where the team had set up a life size replica of Barry as the Flash tied to one of the bowies.

"That my friend is bait." Cisco's voice echoed into their ears.

"You made a flash lure?" Dig questioned.

"It's the best I could come up with given the time frame. It's meant to mimic and enhance the electric field Barry's body generates. King shark takes one wif of that cue the jaws soundtrack. We've stocked it with enough tranqs to knock him out for a month." Cisco's voice rambled through each of their ear pieces.

"Should make him a lot easier to reel in." Barry described.

"And that container… is it strong enough to hold him once he's sedated?" Dig motioned over his shoulder.

"It's made of promethium metal. It's impenetrable." Harry's voice interjected.

"Meanwhile we can keep of King Shark with this and the cameras that are on the lure. Whatever he does we'll have eyes on him." Caitlin noted, her eyes drifting to the tablet in her hand.

"Alright then… let's go fishing." Barry whispered under his breath finally coming to a halt on the dock.

'Caitlin… I can't understand why I can't be the one playing quint in this scenario. I should be the one out there not you."

Caitlin took a moment to respond. Looking up, Barry's eyes remained peeled out into the distance, his eyes scanning the dark unknown she knew that Cisco had closed their line so only she could hear.

"I need to do this." She whispered, squeezing tighter onto Barry's hand as he eyes softly dropped down to her stomach.

"Water is this monsters natural habitat he's going to be stronger here. You sure about this?" Diggle reaffirmed.

"This ends tonight." Barry replied, squeezing onto her hand as he spoke.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

* _Hours later*_

"Maybe he's not going to fall for this."

"He's a shark… he'll come."

"Anything Cisco?" he asked impatiently,

"Ugh nope nothing that looks like it could be him." Barry heard him shrug on the other end of the line.

Barry blew out a deep breath of frustration. _He was sure this was going to work!_ Angry at himself, Barry had every confidence that their plan would work and that he could finally put an end to this. He could finally stop Zoom from hurting the people he cared about. At least the people of his earth. But as time ticked on, Barry grew more and more frustrated in the fact that he could be wrong once again.

"Hey babe, you okay?" Caitlin whispered, tugging on his hand so he turned to face her.

As Barry looked at her, something about her soft brown eyes, unclouded by judgement or greed made it so easy for him to open himself up to her, even though he tried to protect her from carrying the same pain or burden of knowledge he carried with him all the time, that something about her Barry knew he could no longer keep her at arm's length.

"Ever since Zoom beat me here and on Earth 2… I've been running away" he began to confess… almost apologize for how he'd been acting over the past few days since he got back.

"I've been running away from things instead of towards them… and things have changed... Cait I want to be the hero you see in your eyes but I just don't know how I can get back there... back to Earth 2."

"No matter what has happened Barry, you'll never change in my eyes. And we'll get you back there."

"I know." He whispered under his breath.

"Think of this as your first step… or swim." She teased nudging her shoulder into his arm.

Barry let out a small laugh as he smiled down at his wife. God did she know just what to say. Feeling a little more hopeful, Barry took a deep breath straightening up his body as he turned his attention back out to the deep waters.

"Guys incoming! He's headed for the bait!" Cisco's voice entered his ear.

Barry's eyes flickered down towards Caitlin's tablet, watching as King Shark made his fast approach to the bate.

"He ate the lure!" Caitlin exclaimed.

"Get ready to reel him in alright!" Barry instructed the team behind him.

"WHERE DID HE GO?!" Dig shouted.

Barry's body tensed. Stepping forward he positioned himself in front of Caitlin, his body defensively ready for an attack.

"He's headed for the docks!" Cisco informed them.

Without turning around, Barry pleaded Caitlin to go.

"Cait go. Go. Go. Go!" He pressed intently.

As the clattering of her footsteps died away, Barry's heart ease a little with the knowledge she was out of harm's way.

"Get ready to fire." He warned.

"Those guns won't stop me Flash. First I'll kill you then I'll kill them." King Shark laughed.

"Oh yeah let's do this then… come on!" Barry baited running past King Shark and out onto the water.

Barry sped past out into the vast water, he needed to get seemingly far out so no more innocent lives were in danger. Miles outside of the city's edge with King Shark behind him, Barry slowed for a fraction of a second, catching King Shark in the middle as Barry began running clockwise in a circle as he picked back up his speed.

"What is he doing?" Cisco's voice vibrated through the coms.

"He's electrifying the water." Barry heard Caitlin smile.

Hearing her voice, electrified the cells in his body, pushing him faster until her created enough energy to fire off a shot of electricity, knocking the shark unconscious.

As King Shark's body floated to the surface, Barry dragged him back towards the city's edge, dropping him close as he skidded to an abrupt halt in front of his friends.

"How about you reel him in?" Barry said breathlessly, leaning over his knees trying to catch his breath.

"Hell of a catch Barry." Diggle laughed just as Caitlin came running into his arms, burying her face in his neck.

Barry wrapped his arms around her tightly pulling her closer to him.

"Yeah let's just make sure he doesn't kill the one that got away." Barry replied, dropping Caitlin gently back to the ground.

"We won't let that happen again." Lyla agreed.

"So what are you going to do?" Caitlin asked curiously with Barry's arm still tightly around her waist.

"I don't know yet. But one thing is for sure… A.R.G.U.S' plan to turn King Shark into a weapon died with Amanda Waller. Our time is better served figuring out how he came to be and how to cure him." She smiled.

"You know you should talk to Dr Lamden she's done a lot of research and I think it could be helpful to you." Caitlin suggested.

"I'll do that. Nice to see you again." Barry let go of Caitlin, as she drifted out of his arm, and into Lyla's for a hug.

Barry watched after her, as both of them stepped away, Caitlin informing Lyla of Dr. Lamden's research.

"Well thanks a lot Dig" Barry smiled.

"I got to thank you Barry. I got Lyla her first win… I got to watch you run on water. It was biblical." He teased.

With a short snort of laughter, Barry looked over towards Caitlin. With King Shark gone they were safe now. _Right?_ Thinking that Barry just needed to keep reminding himself that the worst was behind them and that he had to start thinking forward.

Sensing his quietness, Diggle began to speak. "Look when I was in Afghanistan I lost a lot of friends… brothers. So to lose Jay I know how it feels like. Questioning yourself, blaming yourself for his death and that guilt… it can tear you apart. Trust me man you got to get control of it. Or it will rip you up inside. Use this man. Let it guide you so it never happens again."

Listening to his words Barry knew he was right. It was much easier said than done. But he was going to try. No more running away. He had to face whatever was coming for them head on. He had to start looking to the future instead of the past. Like Dig said… he had to lean to let it go.

"Alright …. Thanks man. Say hi to everyone for me."

"I will."

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

Instead of returning back to S.T.A.R Labs, Barry ran them straight home. Flashing inside, Barry dropped Caitlin from his arms gently to the ground.

"Home sweet home." Barry cooed as he dropped a quick kiss on her lips.

Leaning into his lips, Caitlin drew at his hand leading him upstairs. Dropping her things as they made their way up, without turning around, Caitlin reached behind her opening the door into the bathroom. As they stumbled in, Caitlin dropped Barry's hand as she fumbled for the lights. Caitlin moved across the room, unbuttoning the buttons of her jacket, letting it fall to the floor behind her as she made her way to the bath. Bending over, Caitlin reached over, turning the handles, allowing the stream of cold and hot water fill the tub. Reaching around her, she drew the zip of her dress down, shrugging out of her dress; she let the fabric sooth over her skin as it fell to pool at her feet. Stepping out of her dress and dipping her feet into the water, testing it, she felt as Barry's eyes bore into the back of her head. His eyes drinking her in as she slid beneath water. It wasn't long before Barry crossed the room joining her. Caitlin stared up at him, as Barry hovered over her, his hands gripping either side of the tub easing himself down. With their eyes interlocked, Barry leaned down kissing her, the water splashing against their bodies as he drew closer to her.

Breaking away, Caitlin saw the exhaustion in his eyes, mirroring her own. Shifting his body around, Caitlin opened herself up so that she cradled Barry's body against hers. Barry leaned his against her bare chest. Grabbing the sponge beside her, Caitlin began soothing over his exposed chest. She felt as his muscles relaxed under her fingers.

"Talk to me…" she whispered, he lips brushing against his ear.

And after a moment's silence, Barry did and she listened. For what was only a couple of days that felt like eternity, he began opening up about what happened to him on Earth 2.

* * *

* _The next day at S.T.A.R Labs*_

After everything Barry had told her last night and the way she had been acting lately especially towards Cisco, Caitlin set off down the hall to find him. Peering around the door and into his lab, Caitlin observed as Cisco was bent over his desk, tinkering intensely at something in front of him.

"What are you doing with those?" She whispered as she snuck up behind him softly.

"I'm adjusting the wavelength trigger seeing if I can get those to work over here." He muttered out a reply without looking up at her.

Biting down on her lip to stop herself from laughing, Caitlin composed herself reaching out her hand to touch his arm.

"So you can catch some breachers?" she said her voice low.

Caitlin almost lost it as she saw Cisco flinch back uncontrollably at her touch.

"Dear god! Caitlin your hands are freezing." He exclaimed taking in a sharp breath and staggering back.

"Caitlin? I always hated that name." she glared at him, taking slow purposeful steps towards him.

"Oh no. No! No. No! Its starting. You're becoming –" he stammered jolting back into his desk.

"Killer Frost?" she finished.

Caitlin saw as Cisco's eyes widened in fright. His reaction brought her to uncontrollable fits of laughter.

"That ain't right! That ain't right! That's just rude. Who put you up to this? Barry put you up to this didn't he? Oh I should have known you to are…"

"Cold?" she finished raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah!" he nodded offended.

"You deserve it for ever thinking that I could become like her. Cisco you need to stop worrying about me. Jay's death may have brought up some issues about my dad I need to figure out, I may be pregnant and moody but I promise you that Killer frost will never exist on this earth. Plus you've tested me I don't even have the metahuman gene. Please stop worrying about me okay." She smiled, taking his hand into hers.

"Okay. But it's kind of hard when you got a mini human growing inside you now. But I'll try." He pointed out looking down at her stomach.

Caitlin smiled at the thought, her eyes following his as she moved her hand over her belly.

"Okay come on Barry wanted us upstairs." She said shaking her head and bringing herself back to the present.

"Speaking of which, have you told him about…" he motioned with eyes to her belly.

"No, not yet please don't tell him. He should hear it from me." She ushered him to keep quiet.

Her eyes soft and intense as she pleaded with him.

"You're secrets safe with me." he smiled offering his arm.

Caitlin let out a sigh of relief and took his arm with a grateful grin.

* * *

"Hail, hail the gangs all here. What's good?" Cisco cheered happily as he led Caitlin by the arm into the cortex.

Caitlin smiled up at Barry as she made her way over to his side. As his arm smoothed over her back resting his hand on her waist, he looked down from her back up to their friends gathered in front of them.

"Uhh… I need to apologize to you all." He paused, glancing down at her for a quick second as if gathering his courage before continuing to speak.

"Um… last year I made a choice to go back in time and save my mother... and that choice had a lot of consequences that will haunt me for the rest of my life... just like I know it haunts all of you too. Zoom… Jay's death it's all because of me but I own those choices. We're the ones who opened the door to Earth 2 … we're the one who brought Zoom here but we are also the ones who are going to stop him."

"How… how are we going to stop Zoom, Allen?" Harry interjected.

"I don't know yet. But those breaches aren't closed forever and we aren't done with earth 2. Jay's death was not in vain. We will meet zoom again and the next time I will beat him. _Whoever that monster is_ …" he trailed off lost in his own thoughts.


	15. Choices

_**Thanks for waiting guys... Here's the next chapter to their story. There's an intense moment between Barry and Caitlin that I loved writing tell me what you think. Hope you enjoy.**_

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

"Wooohoooho! It didn't look this deep on the map." Cisco exclaimed, pulling himself back to the safety of solid ground as they peered over the cliff's edge.

"That's because maps are flat this is like a _thousand_ feet deep!" Barry emphasised rolling his eyes, following Cisco back over to the team.

"Well you want to get faster, maybe plummeting to your death is all the motivation you need." Cisco shrugged with a playful smile

Listening to their conversation, Caitlin peered over the edge of her tablet. Her eyes caught Cisco's, his smile vanishing as he caught sight of her glare.

 _Really Cisco?_ She snarled as he brushed past her suddenly looking regretful.

"So to reach escape velocity you are going to have to go…" Harry paused as he noted the figures on his notepad.

"…that fast." He pointed.

Caitlin watched as Barry leaned over. "Well that fast is impossible I can promise you that." He grumbled.

"Nahhh." Harry disagreed throwing Barry's pessimism to the side.

"Nothing in life is promise except in death." Harry quoted.

"Edgar Allen Poe?" Barry said raising his brows.

"Kanye West." He corrected a matter of factly.

"If it makes you feel any better evil con evil cleared a line of cars that was twice this long and he even have super powers. Ahh unless you count that sweet as ride." He trailed off visualizing the image he conjured up inside his head.

"Do you hear yourself?" Barry asked shaking his head.

"And I thought Caitlin was meant to be the moody one." Cisco huffed under his breath.

Caitlin's eyes widened at Cisco's comment. She still hadn't found the right time to tell Barry. He was so busy and so absorbed in working to get faster, there never seemed to a right to tell him. A swelling sensation grew in her chest as she thought more and more about it. He was going to start noticing soon and she needed to tell him. And she needed to tell him soon.

"What?!" Barry replied looking back towards Cisco.

Caitlin nudged Cisco on the side.

"Nothing. Look you are going to be fine. I'm 80% sure of it." He coughed clearing his throat.

Breathing a little sigh of relief, Caitlin resumed looking over the constant stream of Barry's vitals on her tablet.

"76%" Cisco corrected himself.

"Like a strong 72. I can't stop Caitlin help!" he rambled without filter.

Shaking her head, Caitlin stepped forward using her free hand, she placed it gently across his chest.

"If you don't feel ready you probably shouldn't do it." She said softly.

"Not helpful." Cisco shouted.

Caitlin for the second time today, turned to glare at Cisco over her shoulder.

Hearing her loud and clear, both he and Cisco moved away to give them a bit of privacy.

When she turned back towards him, Barry's eyes were soft yet determined.

"Zoom's still out there and once I find a way back to Earth 2 I'm going to have to be faster than him. And right now…. I wasn't even fast enough to save Jay."

There was a beat as Barry paused, his eyes searching hers for understanding. Biting down on her lower lip she remained silent.

"I have to try."

Nodding, Caitlin reached up placing her lips on his. Parting by a fraction, Caitlin looked into his eyes and she knew there was no changing his mind. Resigned to believe in his will to do whatever it took, she backed away as Barry moved across the cliffs edge, lowering himself into position.

As he took a deep breath she found herself doing the same thing, only that she felt she couldn't let go until he had made the jump safely to the other side. In a flash of yellow lightning, Barry hurled himself over the edge, got a moment it looked as though he was going to make it. Her heart lifted as she saw him soar across the open space.

"He's going to make it!" Caitlin cheered from the sidelines.

Suddenly, her heart plummeted as Barry began falling… and he was falling fast. Dropping her tablet to her side, Caitlin raced to the cliff's edge, her eyes scouring for her husband.

"Oh no!" she gasped racing forward her heart pounding in her chest.

Her eyes strained, Caitlin closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh as she saw Cisco's drones fly toward them, Barry cradled in the safety of a large net.

"Why did you have to bring the drones along Cisco? Well I don't know… YOU"RE WELCOME EVERYONE!" he repeated to himself sarcastically.

As the drones set down beside them, Caitlin didn't hesitate for a moment, racing into his arms, burying her head into his chest.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

"Scooch!" Cisco ordered throwing his things down beside the desk where Jesse vacated.

"Wait what?" she remarked leaping off the chair just in time for Cisco to swoop in and steal a large handful of popcorn.

"So how did it go?" she asked curiously.

Barry avoided her eye and resigned himself to the other side of the room.

"Well he's not a red splat on the side of a mountain." Harry described.

"That's our new definition of success?" Cisco mumbled through another mouthful.

"It's one of them."

"So you didn't make the canon jump?" She pressed, looking back at him intently.

"Nope." Barry replied frustrated.

"What else can we try?"

"A bigger canon" Cisco retorted sarcastically.

Barry stared at Cisco.

"Okay fine no more canon." Cisco added defensively throwing his hands in the air.

"I know I can crack this I've just been going about it wrong. I need to find my leg up. Have we factored in drag? Wells can we re-run the simulation?" he said thinking out loud.

"Let it go for now." Harry replied tired.

"Zoom is still out there. He's terrorizing a whole world _. Your_ world. Nah I'm not doing this for fun." Barry shouted growing agitated at Harry's reluctance.

With his head throbbing and a burning heat rising in his chest, Barry felt as though he was going to explode. He needed to be ready for the next time Zoom attacked. Even though he was a world away, he was still out there with a hatred for him and those he loved. And if was to have any chance of protecting them he needed to get faster. Looking at Caitlin, he grew resolved in his determination.

As the anger and frustration swirled inside him, Caitlin stepped between him and Harry, his eyes focusing on her.

"Babe we've been working on this all week. You're tired, we're tired…" she said gently.

Barry closed his eyes hearing her. Relaxing where he stood, Barry opened them, for the first time actually seeing her. She definitely was tired. He noticed the faint dark circles under her big brown eyes as she looked at him, pleading with him for a break.

"Yeah what we need is some down time. Down time leads to increase productivity… airgo we have to have fun…. And the best way to have fun… is for us to go out to the club. Am I right team Flash?" Cisco hollered his hand raised in the air for a high five, which Barry gave reluctantly.

"Let's get turnt!"

"No but seriously we need a break." He sighed.

"You know I think Cisco's right and if I'm saying we need a break then you _know_ it's serious." Caitlin commented looking at him.

Sighing, Barry nodded in agreement.

"Alright… let's go out tonight!" Cisco bellowed happily.

"Oh yeah! Can I go?" Jesse piped up enthusiastically, looking at her father for permission.

At the sight of Harry's expression, he looked at Caitlin, agreeing that it was their cue to leave.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

As everyone made their separate ways back to their respected homes, Caitlin gathered up her things and headed straight for home. Just as Caitlin stepped through the front door, she dropped her things… shrugging out of her jacket she went into the kitchen and grabbed herself a glass of water.

As the cool liquid hit her throat, Caitlin relaxed against the bench top, her mind racing. Opening her eyes, Caitlin held her gaze over as her hand caressed over her the slight bump underneath her sweater.

Her mind kept going over how she was going to tell Barry she was pregnant. _Would he be excited as she was? Would he want to have a baby in the world they lived in?_ Taking a deep breath, all that Caitlin knew was that she was scared.

Tipping the rest of her glass into the sink, Caitlin made her way back into the living room. Her hand still rested on her belly, she knelt down by the fire place, starting it up, hoping that the fire would warm her up as she waited for Barry to come home.

As the embers of the fire grew strong, Caitlin curled herself upon the couch. Glancing at her watch, it had only been a few minutes since she had got home she knew Barry wasn't far behind her.

Yawning, Caitlin shuffled down halfway down the couch relaxing under the warmth of the fire she allowed the darkness to take her.

It wasn't long before, Barry arrived home to find her curled up on the couch, the soft hum escaping the tiny gap of her open mouth. She couldn't be sure what time it was when Barry returned from inviting Iris out with them, but she woke when she felt Barry's soft lips where pulling her awake.

Slowly she drew her eyes open, her vision slowly finding focus. Groggily smiling at her husband as he hovered over her, his hand caressing the side of her face.

"Hey there sleepy head." He cooed, helping her up.

"When did you get home?" She asked groggily as she sat up on the couch.

"A few minutes ago. I didn't want to wake you. I like watching you sleep." He smiled, as he brushed a strand of hair out of her face and behind her ear.

"You sure you're up to going out tonight?" he asked, seating himself next to her.

"Yeah. I just needed that power nap. We need the time out anyways." She laughed as she threw her legs over his lap, so she was facing him.

"Okay, we should get ready then." He whispered as he tapped her playfully on the leg.

Caitlin smiled weakly in reply. It was now or never. Staring at him, she took a deep breath. Her heart beating rapidly against her chest, Caitlin opened her mouth to speak but found that she had lost her voice. _How was she going to say this?_ She felt that she was losing her mind as her fear raged a war in her head.

"Cait… Cait you okay?" Barry's voice suddenly rang clear as he was now staring at her intently, concern engraved across his face.

Caitlin blinked herself back into the present, she must have been quiet for longer than she thought.

"Y—Yep" she replied half choking on her response.

"We don't have to go if you don't want to." He pressed worried as he looked at her.

"It's not that… I just have to tell you something." She gulped.

"Tell me…"

Caitlin searched his eyes. _He loved her. He'd love the idea of having a baby. Yes, he'll be happy. She tried convincing herself._

Taking another deep breath, she closed her eyes before looking deep into his.

"I'm pregnant."

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

 _"I'm pregnant!"_ her voice echoed through his brain.

 _I'm pregnant._

 _Did he hear her right? They we're going to have a baby. A baby. A small human_. Blinking, Barry was momentarily stunned.

"… take it… I know I should have told you sooner but I didn't know how you'd react and I was scared. Barry… Barry?"

And then it hit him. He was going to have a baby. And in that moment, it's as if the whole world melted away. Everything that had weighted him down, all the danger, the worrying vanished in that moment. In that one moment he learned he was going to be a father, his heart swelled with overwhelming joy and love he couldn't contain the tears now filling his eyes.

Looking at his wife through clouded vision, he pulled at her legs drawing her underneath him as he reached over her in a flash, his lips crashing into hers hard.

In this moment he was happy.

"I love you!" he said between kisses.

Barry felt as Caitlin melted into him, kissing him back.

Pulling away, he leaned his forehead onto hers. "You sure?" he asked, he breathed pulling away his eyes following his hands as they grazed over her body finally resting on her belly. He wanted to be sure he wasn't dreaming. He wanted this to be real.

Without saying a word, Caitlin nodded, tears spilling down the sides of her cheeks.

Smiling widely Barry softly drifted forward, his lips grazing over the fabric over her stomach.

"I don't know you yet… but I love you." He murmured.

Barry felt Caitlin's fingers weave themselves into his hair as he spoke softly to their unborn child.

Without raising his head, Barry adjusted his sight so he was looking straight at her.

"We're going to have a baby…" he whispered his voice softly, his eyes glistening with joy.

 _He was going to be a father._

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

As they got ready, Barry couldn't keep his hands off her. Every chance he got he was kissing her or caressing her belly as he held her in his arms. She didn't mind it… however she found getting dressed impossible.

After a couple of hours, both of them had managed to get dressed. Smoothing out her dress as she looked at herself in the mirror, Barry came up behind her, his eyes smoldering as he wrapped his arms around her waist, his lips nibbling on the bottom of her neck.

"If you keep doing that… we'll never make it out of the house."

"And…" he smirked as he kept placing strategically small kisses up the length of her neck down to her shoulder.

Moaning, Caitlin leaned into his kiss. Turning around in his arms, Caitlin looked at him, her eyes burning with desire.

"Well then we better make it quick." She teased her fingers around his neck she pulled his lips onto hers.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

Hand in hand, Barry guided Caitlin through the crowd, with an overly protective nature to make sure no one was too close to bump into her. With a smile plastered on his face, Barry moved swiftly through the growing crowd of dancers towards the bar where he caught sight of his friends over the many heads in the room.

"Sorry we're late." He huffed breathless from all the manoeuvring they had to do to get through the mass of dancers.

"Late?" Cisco raised his eyebrows.

"This is when the PARTY gets started!" Cisco exclaimed, turning back towards the bartender, holding up four of his fingers as he order all of them a round of shots.

Barry turned around to greet Jesse, pulling her into a brief hug.

 _Beep. Beep. Beep._

"Omg sorry. It keeps doing that! My dad made me wear it." She cursed as she stowed away her hand behind her back.

As Barry laughed, all attempts of trying to get faster, the impending danger of Zoom, vanished from the forefront of his memory, _at least for tonight_. All Barry could do was linger in the moment, a moment where his friends were smiling and laughing… a moment where he was happy. He knew that all of them needed a break and they we're going to enjoy tonight because he knew that these moments never seemed to last for long.

Barry rested his hand around Caitlin's waist, pulling her to him.

"I'm really glad you came, Jesse! Even if this place is less than ideal." She smiled, before teasingly nudging Barry in the side at his taste in venue.

"Hey toast?" Cisco yelled over the loud music as he edged everyone to the side of the bar.

Barry picked up one of the blue flavoured shots on the bar even though he knew the alcohol would do nothing to him. Catching Caitlin's eye, he immediately knew what she was trying to say.

"To Jay!" Cisco exclaimed raising the glass, leading everyone to follow.

"I wonder what Jay would say if he was here right now?" Caitlin mumbled, her mind dwelling off into the blue liquid that filled the short glass.

"What's a comacosie? And you would spend the next ten minutes explaining it." Cisco imitated.

"And then he'd just say just kidding we have those on Earth 2." She laughed sadly as she reminisced.

"Yeah well we don't have those so…" Jesse shrugged, tipping the edge of the glass to her mouth.

Before the blue liquid could touch her lips, Barry pulled the shot away from her and downing it in one gulp.

"Ahh nahahaaa I'm sorry miss underage but none of us are planning on getting murdered by your father tonight." He muttered as he wiped away the small amount of spilled alcohol from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Oh whatever he's all talk." She tried excusing.

Before Barry could respond, fortunately Iris and Wally had arrived. Glancing over his shoulder, Iris was pulling Cisco into a hug while Jesse and Wally began introducing themselves to each other. Returning over to the bar quickly, Caitlin looked at him, passing over her shot. Immediately, knocking it back, Barry settled the glass back down in front of her before both of them turned around to greet the rest of them.

"Hey! I'm so glad you can make it." Barry whispered as he pulled out of hug with Iris.

"What's up Wally?" he nodded with a smile.

"Hey interesting choice of venue. Tick tack theme is… cool." He said sarcastically.

"Cisco picked it. Barry picked it." They said in unison.

"For real?" Cisco said raising his eyebrows towards Barry.

"Alright I picked it. I don't go out much. I'm a married man now." He teased nuzzling his nose into Caitlin's hair.

Caitlin smiled, intertwining her fingers with his.

"Plus it had four stars on yelp." He defended as the others erupted into laughter.

"Okay fair enough." Wally choked out laughing.

"So Jesse are you new in town?" Wally shifted his questioning over to her.

"Ah yeah you could say that." She coughed.

"Me too! Are you from far away?"

"Like you wouldn't believe." She smiled rolling her eyes at the reality of the truth.

As Barry swayed slightly to the music playing, Jesse's watch automatically began to chime.

 _Beep. Beep. Beep._

Embarrassed, Jesse clasped a hand over her watch to mute the sound.

"Excuse me but I need to go powder my…watch." She said as she flustered off in the direction of the toilets.

"I know I'm like we're not exactly close but we are friends right so do you care to dance?" Cisco gestured a hand out to Iris.

"Sure." She beamed brightly, taking his hand as he led her over to the dance floor.

Watching as they moved away, Barry ordered another drink and a glass of water for Caitlin before the moved over to a rare empty table by the dance floor.

"And how are we doing?" he whispered into her ear, his hands slipping over her dress, his hand resting on her belly.

"Great. Perfect." She mouthed back.

Barry felt as the warmth of her skin smoothed over the back of his hand. Both of them looking into each other's eyes with a deep and profound sense of joy neither of them could believe they could come down from.

Smiling, he leaned down to kiss her softly on the lips before shifting behind her as he wrapped his arms around her, both of them swaying in time to the music.

"Omg I'm kinda glad we didn't have a wedding reception. I love Cisco but that dance." She laughed, leaning back into his chest.

"Speaking of which, Can I have this first dance Mrs Allen?" he smirked as he slipped away from her, one hand behind his back, he made a small bow as he reached out for her.

"I'd love to. Mr Allen." She laughed, taking his hand and intertwining her fingers into his.

Barry smiled widely, pulling her straight into his arms. Caitlin circled her hands around his neck as Barry took lead and moved them to the music.

"Hey you okay?" he whispered.

"Yeah, I'm just really glad you're okay with this." She sighed relieved.

Stopping, Barry held Caitlin's chin between his thumb and forefinger. Gently he tilted her chin up, so that she could see in his eyes just how happy he was.

"Hey I'm happy. I want this. I want you. I can't wait to tell everyone." He beamed.

"Actually…." She began.

Before she could finish, there we sudden flashes of light, circling them… zooming between them. Instinctively, Barry wrapped Caitlin in his arms shielding her from the danger around them. Just as fast as the light was there, it was gone and the room resumed back to its normal environment with everyone stunned and searching for their belongings frantically.

Releasing Caitlin, from his arms, he looked down at her his hands on either side of her head as his eyes scoured her to make sure she was perfectly okay.

"You okay?" he asked concerned.

"Yeah but Barry my purse is gone."

* * *

* _Later that night*_

Walking back into the club, a mere hour later, Barry ducked under the police tap, dodging bustling officers as he made his way over to Joe.

"Hey what happened last night? I mean you didn't rob these people?" he whispered as they moved through the nearly empty place.

"Ah I was bored I thought I'd have some fun." Barry said sarcastically.

He hated that someone was out there creating such petty crimes, and the thing that sucked the most was that he… _the Flash_ was the one being accused.

"Well look whoever did this got everyone within a 10 block radius and in under 6 minutes you couldn't catch em?" Joe pressed.

"This speedsters faster than me I guess." Barry sighed.

He couldn't believe just an hour ago he was at the happiest he had ever been and seconds later it vanished. Not only was there another speedster creating havoc, but there was another person _faster_ than him.

"Unbelievable. Hey babe!" Joe muttered before calling over to his daughter.

"Hey! So I spoke to that girl over there. She just snapped a photo of the red blur." She trailed off as she held up her phone with an identical picture Iris had taken of him years ago when he first became the Flash.

Without permission, Barry snatched the phone out of her hands. Barry tried zooming in, manipulating the photo to try and get a better resolution of who it could be, but it was hopeless. Iris was right it was just a photo of a red blur.

"Look familiar?" she prompted.

"This is not good." Barry huffed out running his hand through his hair as he passed on the phone to Joe.

"I know it looks exactly like the photo I took of you last year. Don't worry we'll figure it out. We always do." She comforted.

"Hey…" Joe mumbled handing back over her phone.

"It's work I got to go. Can you keep me posted okay?"

Barry nodded absent-mindedly, his fingers still knotted in his hair as he tried to think of what they were going to do.

"Joe I don't want people think the Flash is some petty thief." Barry stressed.

"Well we need to get to work on squashing those rumours before the spread."

"Yeah." He sighed, his mind trailing off.

 _How was he going to that when he wasn't even fast enough to catch them?_

* * *

* _Back at S.T.A.R Labs*_

"Where did this speedster even come from?"

"I don't know man… all I know is that blur made some 60's macaroons off meat look ridiculous."

"Maybe he's Zooms henchmen somehow?"

"The breaches are closed."

"The other way to become a speedster is by a particle accelerator explosion."

"But yeah why only make yourself known now? You see what I'm saying. You would have had to seen them in action before."

"I'm not saying it makes sense. But that's the only other way you could become a speedster."

Barry looked over at Caitlin who he immediately noticed was biting hard down on her bottom lip.

"Caitlin?"

"Actually there's another way." She said her voice low and shaky.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

Feeling Barry's burning gaze, Caitlin pushed herself away from the desk avoiding his gaze as she began to lead them out of the cortex, down the hallway towards the room hidden around the corner.

S.T.A.R Labs was so large, most of its space uninhabited by scientist after the particle accelerator explosion it was easy for her to claim one of the many forgotten rooms to hide the V9.

"It's called velocity nine." She breathed out heavy as she personally unlocked the metal locker unveiling the last vile of the speed drug. Looking down at it Caitlin was overcome with such guilt and shame, her mind drifting back to Jay and just all that happened to him because of this.

"Ooh it's a sexy as name. What is it?" Cisco oohed as he leaned across the wall craning his head over her shoulder to get a better look at what she was holding.

"It's a speed drug. Jay took it while you were on Earth 2 to save the city from a metahuman." She explained heavily, turning towards them.

Caitlin muster enough courage to glance at Barry, who stood before her, his eyes dark and his mouth set in a hard line.

 _He wasn't happy._ She knew it. She could feel it.

Brushing past him, Caitlin held the vile in her hand, leading them back into the cortex, where she placed it down gently on the podium in the middle of the room.

"What?! How could you not tell me this?" Barry exclaimed with a raised voice behind her.

Caitlin closed her eyes, stepping back from the podium she crossed her arms across her chest defensively.

"I promised Jay I wouldn't."

"Jay what do- why?!" he shouted.

Caitlin looked a taken back. Yes she knew how much this would upset Barry, but the anger radiating from his voice she hadn't expected his reaction and the way he's eyes bore into her.

Before she had a chance to defend actions, Harry stepped in from out of the shadows. He must have been in the other room.

"Because Jay knew how dangerous this drug is. I should know Barry, Snow and I worked on it together."

Caitlin closed her mouth, her arms drew tighter around her body.

"Guys I've been busting my butt out there… pushing myself to the limit." He yelled.

"Trying to be better. Trying to get faster and your telling me there's been something this whole time that could of helped me?! This could have helped me take down Zoom, it could have helped me save Earth 2 Joe… _save Jay._ " He shouted, the vein by his temple pulsating against his skin.

"Jay was sick!" Caitlin fired back.

"The drug he took to regain his speed was also causing cellular degeneration. It was killing him. I tried to help. I tried to find a cure… but in all my experiments the effects were only temporary. The V9 is deadly." She whispered, unable to control the sudden wave of emotions flooding her.

A tear spilled down the side of her cheek, drawing her hand up quickly she brushed it away, unwilling to let Barry see her vulnerable. She needed to be strong and firm about this... about why she kept it a secret. Especially from him. _She had made something that could potentially kill him. And if she knew him well, he would have wanted to take it and she could risk it. She couldn't risk losing him. She wouldn't allow their child to grow up without a father._

"Why not tell me this? Why keep me in the dark?" He voiced hard.

Caitlin felt herself shaking with frustration. How could he not know why? Opening her mouth as she stepped forward, Caitlin felt Cisco's hand upon her shoulder, trying to hold her back from jumping into a no win scenario fight.

"I—' she began to explain.

Before she could begin, Cisco's sudden vice grip upon her shoulder, made her wince in the slightest pain. Turning towards him, her face softened, her expression overcome with concern.

"You okay?" she whispered offering her hand to him for support.

Cisco blinked, his expression a little pale.

"What did you vibe?" Barry pressed, his brows pulled together.

Stammering for the words, Cisco was interrupted by the computers alert.

"Umm…..Metahuman!" He shouted, running around the desk to silence the alarm and pull up the update.

"Yeah social media app for the win!" He beamed a little distractedly.

"Bad Flash is back." He added, his voice dropping sadly.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

"A lady speedster. It only took us 2 years but we finally got one! A lady speedster! Hey here's a question for you… purely scientific, was she good looking?" Cisco asked seriously as he leaned his face against the cool metal frame to the med bay.

Barry would have rolled his eyes if Caitlin hadn't been thoroughly completing her vigorously long examination.

 _He was fine_. He huffed out. If only she could believe it. As she shone the light back and forth between his eyes, Barry grudgingly pushed her hand away, freeing himself from the side of the bed and making his way back down into the cortex.

"You know I was a little busy getting my ass handed to me. So I didn't really notice." He grumbled back.

"Right, right, right but you know… next time for science…." Cisco teased a large grin spreading across his face.

"Oh okay yeah next time that she punches me in the face I'll be sure to get her number." Barry retorted, the simmering frustration from early beginning to bubble against the pit of his stomach once again.

"Yeah there you go." Caitlin grunted as she threw Barry's shirt back at him.

Barry stood motionless for half a second, his shirt in his hands. Daring to glance over at Caitlin, he knew that she was made at him. Barry watched as she made her way over back behind the desk, she sat herself down and began fiddling with her tablet.

Taking a sharp deep breath, Barry resumed in the present conversation as he pulled his shirt back over his head.

"But the question still remains. Who is she?" Harry pointed out.

"I have no idea." Barry shrugged, his eyes lingering over Caitlin as she made a point to avoid him.

"Have you run her through the facial recognition?" Harry asked glancing towards Cisco.

"Yeah she had a mask on." Barry interjected.

"What was her suit like?" Cisco asked curiously off topic.

"Hey!" Caitlin exclaimed, glancing up from her tablet.

"Hey it's a valid question." Cisco defended shrugging his shoulders.

"It is actually. How was her suit constructed?" Harry mumbled, nodding towards Barry for more information.

"Ugh… it was good. It was very good. It was like mine. It was made by somebody who understands the needs of a speedster." He trailed off.

"So that would be someone who has access to tech and a lab."

"Oh no. I'm having a very bad thought." Caitlin muttered out loud, her eyes glazing off into the distance.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

Caitlin took a deep breath before speaking. Gently placing her tablet down on the desk, she braced herself, looking up into the gazing eyes fixed upon her as she began to explain.

"When I designed V9, I was having trouble reformatting the extra cellular matrix so I called a colleague of mine at Mercury labs for some assistance. Eliza Harmon."

"She knows how to make this speed drug?" Barry asked shocked.

"No… I followed the protocols of information compartmentalization. I only gave her 3 of the 8 components necessary for V9 structure." She defended ghastly; she couldn't believe Barry would think her to be so careless.

"Okay so she didn't have the recipe." Joe noted.

"Not unless she could have reverse engineered her own V9." Harry explained.

"Eliza is a genius but this is even out of character for her." Caitlin pointed out.

"Well its worth taking a look." Joe said.

"I'm going to see her." Caitlin said defiantly.

Without question or a seconds glance over her shoulder, Caitlin scooped up her jacket and purse, hanging off one of the chairs behind her desk. She needed to get some space. She needed a little distraction from everything going on around her.

"Joe could you go with her?" she heard Barry whisper behind her.

"I'll go with you." Joe coughed and began to follow out after her.

Caitlin squeezed her eyes shut tightly, without stopping she kept walking forward.

* * *

* _Mercury Labs*_

"Knock knock" Caitlin smiled as she approached slowly towards Eliza.

"Am I hallucination or is that disgraced ex mercury's employee Caitlin Snow?" she teased back.

"Eliza Harmon burning the midnight oil didn't you ever take a break?" she laughed.

"Well you know what they say these bio cyanide ions won't bind themselves. Come here." She joked, pulling Caitlin into a hug.

"Hi."

"Hi. Who is your handsome friend?" She winked over towards Joe.

"Det. Joe West Ma'am." Joe nodded, pulling out a pen from the inside pocket of his coat.

"Detective? What brings you around these parts?" she eyed him curiously.

"That's a funny story." Caitlin mumbled, her mind scattered, figuring out a disguised way to draw out information.

"You know how there's a speedster wreaking havoc on the city?" she began.

"Yeah I heard the Flash went nuts! Fame will do it to you. I guess some people can't handle the limelight right?" she laughed as she shrugged her shoulders and turned back to carry on with what she had been working on before Caitlin and Joe interrupted.

"Well we happen to know it was someone else. That's why we're here looking into this." Caitlin pointed out.

"Wow. How very law and order of you Caitlin." She nodded coyly at her friend.

"Do you remember that formula you were helping me with a few weeks or months ago?" she lead on.

"Ahh vaguely."

"We think that it was somehow involved." Caitlin explained.

"How? What did you have me working on?" Eliza replied suddenly alarmed.

"It's classified but let's just say it had some kind of enhancement and we are afraid that somehow my research was stolen."

"Not from this lab." She defended abruptly.

Caitlin stepped back, glancing at Joe uneasy. _Shit did she just ruin their best chance of finding out who this other speedster could be?_

"Okay but between you and me that place is vulnerable. Ever since that break in a few months ago… some of us think that McGee hasn't sufficiently stepped up security. But I kept my research on lock and destroyed the originals when it was given back to you. But hey you're free to look around my lab if you want." She said gently.

Genuinely smiling at her friend Caitlin gave a big sigh of relief.

"Um no I don't think that would be necessary." She muttered in reply.

"I'm sorry I wish I could be more help." Eliza apologized her eyes drifting between Caitlin and Joe.

"No its okay. Actually it's kind of a relief. Will you call me if you hear anything though?"

"Of course. That's what friends are for." Eliza smiled before groping Caitlin into another hug.

"Thank you." She whispered.

Saying their goodbyes, Caitlin and Joe took their leave. Peering over her shoulder as they left, Caitlin observed as Eliza buried herself once again in her work. Looking at her, Caitlin could help but think _what would her life be like if she had just stayed at Mercury Labs? Would her life with Barry be so much simpler? More safe?_ Turning her head back, Caitlin's hand drifted over her stomach as she spoke to Joe.

"So what do you think?"

"For now we take her for her word." He muttered, leading Caitlin out towards the exit.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

* _S.T.A.R Labs*_

Ever since Caitlin left with Joe to question their only lead, Barry couldn't find himself standing still. With a million and one thoughts hammering throughout his head, each one of their own trying to fight for attention, Barry's mind couldn't seem to concentrate on anything important but on how just hours ago he was the happiest he'd had ever been and in the next he was back crashing down hard on the ground. And what made him feel even worse was the fact that Caitlin had hidden something that could have helped him stop all of this.

Pacing up and down the room, Barry shoved his hands deep in his pocket, his head aching as he tried clearing his mind, trying to think clearly.

The soft hum of voices radiating from the end of the hall, woke Barry from his temporary daze. Stopping flat in the middle of the room, he looked up to see Caitlin deep in conversation with Joe just as they reached the entrance of the cortex. Barry's heart continued to beat loudly and more intensely as he caught sight of her. As frustrated as he was with her in this moment, it still surprised him just how he could still take his breath away. How she still could affect him this way.

Barry watched as she hugged him goodbye. Raising his hand to say goodbye, Joe departed with a weak, knowing smile on his face, leaving Caitlin and he alone in the room.

Caitlin didn't look up as she entered the cortex. Her eyes fixed distantly low in front of her, she pulled out of her coat, throwing both her jacket and purse into the chair next to her before falling into one beside it.

"You're back." Barry said maybe a little too strongly.

"I'm back." She replied offhandedly.

Sensing her tenseness, Barry moved forward around the desk to her. Kneeling before her, he placed a hand over her stomach as she relaxed back into the chair. His eyes fixated on her belly, Barry opened his mouth to speak.

"How are you feeling?" he said more gently than before.

"Are you asking because I'm pregnant or to see if I'm still mad at you?" She questioned bluntly.

"Honestly?" Barry sighed, peering up at her.

Caitlin didn't reply. Her eyes pierced his with a deadly glare.

"Both." he shrugged, his eyes trying to gauge just how mad she was at him.

Without a word, Caitlin pulled away from out of his touch pushing herself out of her chair she now began pacing up and down the room. Barry pulled himself from off the ground.

"Cait I don't know why you're mad at me!" He argued throwing his hands up in the air with all the frustration he felt pounding in his chest.

Caitlin spun around abruptly to face him, causing him to immediately regret the tone of voice he had used as she stared at him with an icy glare.

"You serious Barry?" she spat back angrily.

"I am!" he shouted back.

"I just can't understand why you would keep V9 a secret. It could have helped me. It could have helped me stop Zoom. I could have saved Jay!" he said unable to control the volume of his voice rising.

"Don't." she raised her hand stopping him from saying any more.

"Don't what?!"

"Don't pretend you don't know why I did it. Barry." She seethed rolling her eyes at him.

"I don't. Talk to me Cait! Tell me why. Why?!"

"BECAUSE IT WOULD HAVE KILLED YOU!" she shouted back angrily.

Barry opened his mouth to argue but shut in straight away. As he looked at his wife, her eyes glazed with a shine as she fought back tears, she looked at him an infuriating anger he couldn't quite understand. Calming himself down, Barry lowered his voice.

"You don't know that." He whispered gently.

"But I do." She spat back, now unable to control the tears falling down the side of her face.

"I'm the one who created it Barry. I'm the one who gave it to Jay. He was dying because of it! So don't stand there and say that I don't know because I do. I've watched too many people I love die. Barry I kept V9 a secret because not only did I make a promise but I know you Barry. You would have taken it to stop Zoom... without a second thought."

"Yes and all of this would have been over." He interrupted her.

"Maybe but you would have taken it even if it cost you your life."

Barry didn't respond.

"Because that's who you are Barry. It's why I love you." She trailed off her voice weakening as she continued.

"Cait… then why?"

"Because I love you. I wasn't going to take the risk and lose someone else I love. I'm not going to lose you!" she shouted.

"And you won't." He reassured her.

Barry moved forward closing the cold distant between them. Enclosing his hands around her face, Caitlin leaned into his touch, her eyes closing with the touch of skin on hers. Lifting her head gently so he could see her swollen brown eyes, Barry grazed his thumb over her cheek wiping away her tears.

"But this…" he whispered, his voice almost pleading.

"BARRY!" she yelled, pushing him hard against his chest, pushing herself out his hands and away from him.

Barry staggered backwards. Her anger like a slap in the face, his heart began to ache. Stepping forward pleading out to her, Caitlin held up her hand stopping him dead in his tracks.

"Cait…"

"No. I won't raise _our_ child without a father Barry. But I can't do this anymore."

"What? Cait…" Barry begged, his heart pounding in his chest as he moved forward.

With each step he tried to make she took two steps back.

"I won't choose to raise my child who was cheated out of the chance to grow up with their father. I won't Barry. So take it."

Barry watched his vision a little clouded as tears edged to betray him. Caitlin pulled out the vile from her pocket and placed it on the table beside her. Her eyes never once begged to look up at him. Barry stood frozen.

"I just can't stand by you and make the decision I know you want to make. You want it. The choice is yours." She said her voice clear and sharp.

And then she was gone.

Barry couldn't move. He felt as if his heart had stopped beating. This surely couldn't be real. This wasn't happening. Yet, without even realising, Barry looked down; between his fingers he cradled… _the drug… the V9… his choice_.

* * *

* _The basement*_

Barry curled his hand into fists. Breathing hard, Barry stormed up and down. With the vile encase in his hand, Barry wanted to scream. Stopping Barry threw all his frustration into one fast thrust of his fist into the nearest wall. A loud scream of pain and anger erupted from his mouth, but he was far down for anyone to hear him.

His chest heaving, Barry turned to lean against the wall. His head drawn down Barry closed his eyes trying to think. He needed to think.

"I know you took the V9 Barry."

Startled, Barry shot up straight, his body rigid ready for an assault. When his eyes fixed themselves on Harry, he slightly relaxed.

"No I haven't. I took it but I haven't taken it yet." He grunted, his fists whitening as he tightened his grip.

"Good." Harry stated flatly.

"Tell me why I shouldn't?" Barry shouted frustrated.

"Figure it out."

"If the game is already rigged why can't I level out the playing field? I mean if EVERYBODY ELSE IS CHEATING… how can -" Barry trailed off closing his eyes, trying to level his voice.

"I want to be fast enough to stop Zoom and any speedster that tries to harm my friends… _my family._ There's more at risk now. Shouldn't I use everything in my power to do that?" he whispered desperately for someone to be on his side.

He needed someone to understand why he was doing this. He had more to lose now more than ever, and if by taking the V9 could stop Zoom and keep his family… his child out of harm then _why shouldn't he take it? Yes, it could cost him his life… eventually. But at least he would secure his child's future… wouldn't it? If anyone could understand it would be Wells… right? Right?_

"You want to take a short cut? Is that right? Do you want to take a short cut? Remember this… YOU LOSE!" Harry emphasised.

"…a chunk of your humanity every time you compromise your values." He continued his voice trailing off.

"Ahah sorry that's really good coming for you." Barry laughed.

"So don't be like me. Be better. Be like Jay. Be the father to your unborn child. Don't walk away Barry, because taking _that_... taking the V9, you're taking away your chances of being a father… the chances of your child growing up with one. You of all people should know how that feels. So trust me on this Barry. Find another way."

"How… How did you know?"

"I just do."

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

Caitlin felt exhausted. Her emotions scattered everywhere, she had no clue where to begin to piece herself back together. She really didn't know what Barry was going to do. But the choice was his now. She just hoped he choose the right choice.

"Any luck finding our speedster since Eliza checked out?" Barry's voice rang out from behind her.

Caitlin didn't turn around, instead she kept her eyes glued to the computer, and her fingers' working separately along with Cisco's to locate the speedster.

"Um I'm still working on it but…" Cisco said unfazed by the tension between the two.

Before Cisco could finish, a bright flash of light flew by them and Barry was gone.

A seconds panic rose in Caitlin's chest.

 _"HEY CISCO! HEY JOE! SHE'S GOT ME IN THE PIPELINE."_ Barry' voice echoed through the computer's speakers.

Caitlin looked down, pulling up the pipeline camera. Barry was safe in a cell. In that moment that panic eased away but replaced by the fear of the speedster they were chasing waving a gun around the room.

"What do you want?" Harry questioned.

"Where's the V9 Caity I need a fix?" her voice echoed towards Caitlin.

"Eliza is that you?" Caitlin asked shocked.

"Eliza's not here right now my name's Trajectory!" she grunted, her gun still pointed squarely at her.

"Oh man why do the crazy ones always name themselves?" Cisco mumbled to himself.

"Look Eliza Velocity 9 is very dangerous it made a friend of mine very sick and he already had the speed force in him. Look your cellula-"

"ENOUGH! You are _boring_ me to death! Hand over the V!" She demanded threateningly.

"I'm a physician I took an oath I can't give you anything that will hurt you!" Caitlin stammered.

"Right… so hand over the V or the kakhi gets it." She threatened, re-aiming her gun towards Cisco.

"NNOO!" Caitlin yelled.

"Hey move now!" she ordered Caitlin.

Her pulse racing, Caitlin moved over towards the cabinet on the side opening it up slightly, Eliza pushed her aside, and the gun still aimed towards them as she herself looked inside.

"Look all the flasks are gone. There's nothing left." Cisco pointed out as he saw over her shoulder and into the cabinet.

"Huh… I was really hoping you weren't going to make me do one of those 'I'll have to kill one of you each…. One by one until you give me what I want.' Oh well" She trailed off her finger moving slowly towards the trigger her gun aimed at Jesse.

"DON'T! Wait. You want V9 I'll make it for you." Harry shouted stepping in front of Caitlin, his eyes bouncing between his daughter and the maniac in the room.

"Dad you can't." Jesse cried.

"We have all the ingredients." Caitlin stated trying to defuse the situation.

"I'm not a patient person so you better move fast."

Nodding, Caitlin followed Harry and they began their work once again.

* * *

* _Moments later*_

Before Caitlin could get the last drop into the last vile, Harry had already snatched it away from her sealing the lid and pacing back over to Trajectory.

Caitlin followed briskly behind him, her eyes locked on Jesse who lay on the floor as the gun still remained aimed dangerously at her.

"It's what you wanted now let her go." Harry pleaded as Trajectory took the viles.

"Hmm... how do I know the two of you didn't lace this with a sedative to put me on my ass?" she questioned looking curiously in the ready to go injection in her hand.

"We wouldn't do that." Harry promised, his eyes fixated on the gun pointed at his daughter.

"You can never be to safe right…" she smiled slyly before injecting Jesse in the neck with the V9.

"NOO!" Harry screamed, reaching out and knocking the injector from her hand.

Caitlin gasped, stepping forward she stopped dead in her tracks as the gun was re-aimed at her.

"Thanks for the fix Snow." Trajectory laughed before speeding off.

"Get Barry!" Caitlin ordered at Cisco before rushing over to Jesse.

Caitlin held her head in her hands, closely observing her, her eyes scanning over hers.

"Are you okay?" she whispered her voiced strained with concern.

Jesse nodded slightly. Caitlin didn't know if it was her pregnancy but a disconcerting feeling washed over her. She was overly concerned.

"Well good job on the cell Cisco." Barry huffed as he flashed back into the room.

"JESSE!" Caitlin screamed, just as Jesse slipped out of her hands to the floor convulsing.

"What happened?" Barry asked worried as he rushed over to their side.

"Turn her on her side." Caitlin ordered.

"Eliza shot her up with V9" Harry explained, doing as Caitlin said.

"She's going into shock… it's too pure." Caitlin emphasised looking over Jesse with a quick diagnosis.

"Stay with me Jesse stay with me." Harry whispered to his daughter.

"What do we do?" Cisco voiced.

"We need to get the V9 out of her system." Barry interjected.

Caitlin nodded, pulling herself up she rushed over to the med bay, briskly searching for all the medical equipment they were going to need.

"She needs a blood transfusion… the new blood with flush the drug out of her system." she said.

"What blood type is she?" Barry asked looking at Wells.

"PC negative."

"Oh yeah that's not a thing on this earth man!" Cisco retorted sarcastically.

"I'm a match." Harry spat back, already taking off his shirt.

With Jesse now stabilized and both her and Harry in the med bay, Caitlin rested herself down in a chair, exhausted and her feet sore.

"Caitlin I know she was your friend and all but home girl gone coo coo bird." Cisco emphasised finishing up cleaning the room.

"Now she's out there with more V9." Barry sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"But she doesn't know I put a micro tracker in the drug." Caitlin smiled, her fingers already running across the keyboard, tracking down the location of Trajectory.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

Racing downtown, Barry pushed himself faster. The urgency to get to the bridge overwhelmingly strong, Barry let the power and wind rushing past him, clearing his mind of everything from his mind, focusing on one thing. Getting to that bridge. Skidding to a halt once he reached his destination, Barry staggered back as a rush of scared people stampeded past him heading towards safety of solid ground.

"Guys this bridge is going down!" Barry shouted over the coms.

"Barry there's about 200 people on that bridge right now." Cisco relayed over.

His eyes scouring over the bridge, Cisco was right. There was still so many people. Taking a deep breath, Barry pressed forward, seizing hold of everyone he could find, helping them over to the safest side of the bridge.

Once he knew everyone was clear, he stopped. Trying to catch his breath Barry was surprised and knocked to the ground by the force of human contact.

"You're ruining all my fun." Eliza frowned looking down on Barry before continuing to run up and down the bridge causing it to collapse.

Barry scurried back to his feet. Trajectory was waving smugly from the other side of the broken road.

"Trajectory is too far away you won't get to her if you cross the river." Cisco stated.

"I can if I jump." Barry sighed as he stared across the gap.

"Barry to make that distance you need to go mock…Three point three… but only for a second."

"Okay." Barry nodded.

As he took a deep breath, Barry knelt down, his eyes locked onto his destination. Exhaling, he felt the rush of electricity pulse through his veins. The next second, Barry pushed off from the ground with a thundering speed. In a flash of yellow lightning, Barry hurled himself over the edge soaring across the open space, Barry's feet landed on solid surface, his feet propelling him faster knocking into Eliza, both of them stumbling over one another before eventually crashing into an electricity box.

"It's over Eliza" Barry huffed out.

"It's never over!" she breathed back, trying to find strength to pull herself off the ground.

His chest heaving, Barry tried catching his breath when he raised his hand.

"Wait!" he shouted.

"Hey… stop doing this to yourself. You don't actually want to hurt anyone." He pleaded with her.

Barry saw her hesitation. The V9 still gripped hard tightly in her hand.

"You don't know anything about me!" She said sadly, shaking her head.

Barry looked at her for a moment.

"I know you're not a bad person. This is the V9 in your system." He paused.

"I also know what it feels like to want to be the best… makes you feel like there isn't enough time to do things the right way but it's a cop out. You have friends and family who love you and who need you. Trust me there's always another away." He whispered, his thoughts hoping Caitlin was listening.

"Look at yourself Eliza you're not well. Let us help you please." He begged, extending out his hand to her.

Eliza hesitated. But then a flicker in her eye, Barry saw her vanish. Eliza stabbed herself with the V9.

"That's all the help I need. How does it feel to know that I'm as fast as you will ever be?" she smirked before racing away.

Barry staggered back by the force of her sped. Looking after his eyes widened in realization.

"The lightning… it's turning blue." He whispered under his breath.

* * *

* _Back at S.T.A.R Labs*_

Barry slammed the door of his locker shut. Easing down, Barry sat down closing his eyes as he thought hard about what he saw. _Her lightning turned blue._ He repeated over and over again.

Opening his eyes at the subtle knock on the door, Barry cleared his throat looking up his eyes adjusting to the light from the hallway, his eyes settling on his wife.

"Hey." She whispered, shifting uneasily between her feet in the door way.

"Hi." He breathed back softly, glad to see her.

"I heard what you said to Eliza."

Barry closed his eyes relieved.

"I hoped you would. Look I'm sorry Cait."

"I am too."

By this time, Caitlin had moved into the room closing the distance between them.

Caitlin stopped a short distance in front of him. Her eyes following his to her hands. Barry opened up his palm, exposing what he was holding.

"You still have it." Caitlin whispered her voice a little disappointed.

Barry didn't reply, instead he opened up the vile and began pouring its contents until each drop hit the floor.

"You won't lose me." He whispered.

Caitlin smiled up at him through her wet lashes, leaning up she crashed her lips to his.

"I choose you! I'll choose us every time. Always." He promised his hand resting over their unborn child.

"Come on, the teams waiting for us back in the cortex." Caitlin murmured against his lips.

With a weak smile, he nodded and allowed her to guide him out of the room, his fingers locked with hers.

* * *

* _The cortex*_

With a lighter heart but a heavier head, Barry and Caitlin re-joined the team all of whom were huddled around the burnt out suit hanging towards the side of the room.

"So Eliza just evaporated from running to fast?" Iris questioned curiously, her eyes transfixed.

"Looks like cellular degeneration. Just like Jay's" Caitlin reminisced.

Barry peered down at his wife, her eyes lost in some distant memory. It just occurred to him, just how close she had gotten to Jay. Her need to try and save him… the time they spent together working out how to get his speed back. The thought made him slightly jealous. His jaw tensing, Barry looked back, squeezing her hand.

"Jay warned us V9 was dangerous at least now we know why." Joe nodded towards Barry.

"You find Jesse." Cisco asked as Harry entered the room joining the rest of the team.

Barry looked over his left shoulder to see Harry looking rather discouraged.

"She went out." He said flatly and the team knew not to press the issue further.

A hum of conversation resumed round him but all of it was reduced to white noise, as the thought of the blue lightning drifted back into Barry's mind.

"Barry what is it?" Iris asked looking at him concerned.

Barry blinked, bringing himself back into the present. Clearing his throat he began explaining about what he saw last night.

"It's just right before Eliza… disappeared her lightning it turned blue." He's voice trailed off.

"Right. What if it's the side effect of the V9?" Cisco suggested.

"Yeah but Jay took velocity 9 and he's lightning didn't turn blue." Caitlin explained her hand dropping out of his as she crossed her arms over her chest somewhat protectively.

"But how fast was he running?" Barry asked his voice barely audible, lost in his own thoughts.

"Not as fast as Eliza." Iris muttered.

"So what if V9 is what turns your lightning blue. So that would make sense why Eliza was so much faster than me." Barry suggested, his mind slowly piecing pieces together.

"If that's true that means he's sick right?" Joe prompted.

"He's dying." Harry stated.

Barry looked at him wide eyed. _No. No it couldn't be?_

"That's why he wants your speed. He's dying and he needs a cure." Harry continued, shocked by his own realization.

"Same as Jay." Barry found the courage to say out loud.

"No!" Caitlin objected.

Barry looked at her. _Cait._

"Jay no! He died right in front of us. Zoom killed him right in front of us." Cisco repeated in disbelief.

"Yes Cisco we've seen a speedster be in 2 places at once before." Barry whispered turning back to face Cisco.

"I guess there's one way to find out." Harry proposed.

"Well then I guess it's a good time to tell you I've been vibing Zoom." He muttered under his breath.

"What? For how long?" Harry stuttered, stepping forward.

"Since we closed the last breach... ever since I've been near that thing." He trailed off as he pointed towards Jay's helmet.

Barry took a deep breath, his mouth set in a grim line, he picked up something lying on the desk beside him and stalked over to the glass case. Without a seconds thought, Barry swung whatever he was holding, causing the glass to shatter to pieces. Reaching down he picked up the helmet, his eyes never leaving it as he handed it over to Cisco.

"We need to know."

Cisco willingly took the helmet into his hands. Barry stepped back as Cisco took a moment to collect himself and concentrate on his powers.

What felt like an eternity of waiting, the small muttering of Cisco's disbelief told Barry all he needed to know.

"Cisco what did you see?" Caitlin asked scared for the answer.

"I saw Jay. _He's Zoom_." He whispered.

Caitlin gasped; shaking her head, tears began to spill down her eyes.

An unbelievable anger filled Barry. His pulse pounding against his chest and his breathing becoming more ragged as the realization sunk in.

 _He had done it again. He had put his trust in the wrong person. Someone who betrayed them again._

Angry Barry flashed into his suit.

"BARRY!" Caitlin yelled after him.

The anger fuelled him. Barry didn't know where he was going he just knew he needed to run. Somewhere far out of the city Barry skidded to a halt. Overlooking a cliff Barry tore of his mask. His breathing heavy as he fell to his knees screaming.


	16. Past & Present

**Hey there guys! Here's the next chapter for you. A quick heads up.. I will be M.I.A for a few months as I leave to travel tomorrow but as soon as I get back I'll finish off the rest of the season. Until then. Hope you enjoy. This might not be my best writing. Sorry. Enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: I do no own the Flash nor its characters.**

* * *

 _ **Caitlin's POV**_

As the front door slammed shut, Caitlin shot up turning around to see her husband home.

"Barry…" her voice whispered unsure of what to say.

She watched as he took steps forward before collapsing to his knees. Caitlin raced over to him, wrapping her arms around him, Barry held onto her tight his head in her chest, and he began to cry.

Caitlin wasn't sure how long they stayed like this, but she rocked back and forth until he stilled. Pulling away, Barry's eyes were dry and red rimmed. Looking into his eyes, she saw his pain, his anger for the man they all had trusted. The man who they entrusted with their lives and secrets had betrayed them. Pushing her own feelings aside, and brought Barry over to the couch where the fire dwindled.

"Cait, I let it happen again." He paused.

Caitlin didn't speak, she just beside him listening. Barry was lost his eyes glazed as he watched the burning embers flicker in the fireplace.

"I trusted someone I shouldn't have… Jay Garrick… Zoom. Just like trusted Harrison Wells or Eobard Thawne. How could I…? I made the same mistake twice. I thought they wanted to teach me how to use my powers… train me how to get faster but they didn't come here to help me. They came here to _use_ me and to take everything I love away from me." He emphasised, his hands curling into fists as he spoke.

"Barry…" she whispered gliding her hand over his.

Caitlin watched him cautiously. Barry let his fingers relax under her touch. Caitlin closed her eyes resting her forehead against the side of his head.

Caitlin only opened them when she felt Barry shift around her. He adjusted himself so that he was facing her. With her hand still over his, Barry turned over her palm opening her hand he weaved his fingers between hers. His thumb gliding over the back of her hand, Barry leaned down bring her hand to his lips.

At the softness of his touch Caitlin took a deep breath, her eyes locked onto him. Barry took a moment before lifting up and turning to face her.

"But no more." He promised her.

"I'm not going to let them fool me again. I am going to crack the code. I'm going to figure out how to increase my speed. I'm going to train harder, train stronger and faster than anyone's done before… and then I'm going to stop Zoom." He said staring at her with an intensity only fuelled by his anger and determination.

"I won't let them take anything else away from us." He whispered, as he let go of her hand and tangled his hand in her hair, pulling his lips to her forehead.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

 _*A couple of weeks later*_

Barry ran his hands through his hair as he stared at the numbing group of numbers and equations in front of him. It had been weeks and he was still no closer to cracking the code to increase his speed.

Books drop.

"Yo!" Barry breathed out startled by the sound.

"Can we please get rid of Jay's helmet?" Cisco gritted.

"No it keeps me motivated." Barry said flatly turning back to the massive board in front of him

"Well it's giving me daymares… This is everything I could find remotely related to increasing speed. How are these supposed to apply the speed equation to you?" Cisco added, scooping back up the books from the floor and handing them over to Barry.

Barry nodded a courteous thank you as the books we placed in his hands. Opening the cover of the first book, Barry began flicking through the pages hoping that an answer would pop out of one of them.

"The answers got to be in here somewhere." He whispered under his breath.

"I think I found out something interesting." Caitlin called, walking into the room.

Barry's heart jumped at the thought, following after her as she made her way to one of the screens in the room, uploading whatever she had found.

"Good interesting or bad interesting? Because that word could go either way." Cisco remarked as he joined the two of them.

"I've been running some comparative data and it appears that you…" she started, just as she brought up the data onto the screen.

"Reverse Flash and Zoom are moving your legs at essentially the same speed." She stated.

Barry pulled his hands to his hips. His brows furrowed in concentration as he read over the data.

"Then why are they so much faster than him?" Cisco asked.

"Best I can tell is that with each stride… their feet spend less time on the ground thus propelling them forward much faster." Caitlin explained.

"By almost 30%. Great well I've got to make up that difference somehow." Barry sighed, throwing his hands into his hair in frustration.

"Barry…" she hesitated, calling after him as he turned away.

"Look after what that monster did…" she said cautiously.

"…I want to stop Jay just as badly as you do but what if the reason you haven't been able to run as fast as him yet is because you just can't?"

Barry stared at her. She didn't mean it in a cruel way, she was just being honest… and she was right. _What if he wasn't fast enough?_ Bending his head down, he closed his eyes and let the reality of the truth sink in. _He just wasn't fast enough_.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

Caitlin was collecting up her things when Barry burst back into the room.

"I know how to get faster!" he bellowed.

* * *

 _*Seconds later*_

Once the news of his absurd sank in, Caitlin had to seat herself down to absorb what she just heard.

"You mean the old Harrison Wells? As in Eobard Thawne? You want to him to teach you how to get faster? Ohh that's rich!" Cisco exclaimed just as shocked at the idea than she was.

"How are you going to do that?" Caitlin blinked, turning to face her husband.

"By running back to a time last year." He explained excitedly.

"What about the other you? What about the _you_ from that timeline?" Cisco interrogated.

"I'll knock him out with something. It's not like he'll see me coming and then I'll have Wells teach me." Barry shrugged as if it wasn't a major issue.

"Barry that's crazy!" Caitlin exclaimed.

 _This is crazy!_ A voice in head screamed.

"Nothing I've read is pointing me towards a solution and if there's anybody that's figured out the key to getting faster without V9… it's him." Barry defended.

"What do you guys think?" he said more softly as if needing their approval.

Caitlin looked to Cisco, who in turn looked to hear. Before either of one could express their doubts it's like Harry read their mind before the words left their mouths.

"Your plan is ass in nine!"

Caitlin turned to Barry who's expression turned to a shade of red.

"Did you find Jesse?" Cisco stammered sensing the rise in tension.

"Does it look like I found Jesse?" he spat sarcastically throwing his bag hard on the floor.

"How many times have you travelled through time?" he vented turning to face Barry.

"A few…" Barry said a matter of factly.

"Do you know how many things you could screw up?" Harry pressed aggressively.

"All I need is one conversation with Dr Wells." Barry excused, his voice tense.

"He's not Wells." He spat under his breath.

"Thawne." Barry corrected rolling his eyes.

"I'M WELLS. THIS MAN HAS BEEN STUDYING YOU FOR FIFTEEN YEARS! FIFTEEN YEARS! And you don't think he's going to know who you are?" Harry yelled.

"Barry's pretty good at impersonating himself… you should have seen him on Earth 2. I was like someone get him an Oscar." Cisco commented towards her.

"He will know Allen. He will know."

"Alright then what am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to stop Zoom? Do you know the answer to this equation?" Barry said his voice raised as he pointed back towards the board behind him.

"If Thawne figures it out that it's you… the timeline will be altered. People can die… others could live and no one will know who or what will be affected. But I promise you when you do come back things will be different and only you will know what those differences are."

"Well if that's what I have to do to stop Zoom then so be it… because if I don't and Zoom gets my speed before I stop him, everybody I care about… my family… my child… everybody in this city their world will never be the same anyway."

Caitlin could see just how tired and frustrated Barry was. In that moment, his determination and commitment to do this… it was the moment she agreed with him. There was a silence, where just both Barry and Wells had a power stare neither of them one of them flinching, not until Harry turned his back to them, storming out of the room without another word.

"I.." Barry exasperated feeling a little defeated.

"Do you really think you can do this?" Caitlin whispered. Needing to be sure he wasn't risking everything for a man who betrayed them once before.

"Yeah I do. When I went back last year and I saw my mom die… it didn't affect the timeline." Barry smiled, reassuring her.

"Yeah but you haven't really time travelled on purpose before." Cisco prompted.

"I have to do this guys." Barry pleaded with them.

"Okay. Let's go for it." Caitlin agreed, a weak smile crossing her face.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

Standing on the edge of the pipeline, Barry jumped nervously between his feet, anxious about what he was about to do. Pulling on his mask, his mind raced over everything him, Cisco and Caitlin had just gone over. He had only one shot to get this right.

 _"Okay you are going back to the time when Wells was distracted by the return of the major jackass that is Hartley Rathaway. This is the first time we found out that Wells knew that the particle accelerator would explode and we were all angry with him so anything that might seem odd about your behaviour Wells should attribute to that. Also don't underestimate Hartley. He almost killed you." - Cisco_

 _"This is a tranq dart that should knock old you out for about 6 hours. Which lines up perfectly from where you're going back because not much is happening until Hartley attacks the Cleveland dam that night so which gives you enough time to get what you need and return." – Caitlin_

 _"One more thing. You cannot tell us the truth about Wells no matter what. You must keep the timeline intact. It's going to be hard to course correct if anything gets altered so get what you need and come back preferably to this moment to this exact time you're leaving or you might set of some kind of 12 monkey's time loop you'll never get out of. No pressure_. So we'll see you in 2 seconds. Time travel is so weird _" - Cisco_

 _"God speed Barry and come back to me." – Caitlin_

 _I will._ He whispered to himself before speeding off, his feet pushing further, his body moving faster. Closing his eyes Barry thought of the date he needed to go back to.

"Screeecchhh"

Barry opened his momentarily to see a ghastly looking skeleton screaming, it's arms outstretched reaching for him.

A jolt of fear pulsed though his body, causing seconds distraction enough to pull him out of the speed force and out onto solid ground.

* * *

* _Last year*_

Staggering to halt, Barry stopped half hidden in a deserted alleyway, his few unobstructed to what felt like a movie he had lived.

"Oh no I'm too early. This is not a good start." He breathed, moving to conceal himself behind a dumpster on his right.

A sudden burst of loud white noise pelted through his coms.

"Dammit." Barry winced in pain.

 _"I can hear their radio waves emanating from your suit. About 1900 megahertz? Is that them on the other end listening? Are they going to hear you die?" he antagonized._

 _"No their going to hear you get your assed kicked" Barry smiled, not even trying to disguise his hatred for this guy._

 _"Okay" Hartley responded confidently._

Barry could hear in the near distance.

"Yeah, yeah, I remember this. This could still work." Barry whispered to himself, refocusing out of the pain and back to his mission.

Ahead of him, Barry watched his past unfold before him.

Before his past self-had a second to react a wave of energy pushed him backwards, knocking him into glass. This giving him the Barry the opportunity to zoom in and speed himself away.

"Is that all it takes to scare you off?" hears Hartley taunting in the distance.

Further deep down the ally, Barry had wrestled the unknowing him against the wall, pulling out his communications to the team, cradling them in his hands.

"The coms… Who are you?" he stammered.

"I don't have time to explain this to you right now." Barry said, reaching out into his side and pulling out the tranq.

Before Barry had time to stab himself, his past self-had managed to speed his way free. Barry raced after himself trying to restrain him. As he followed himself, scaling ladders and side of buildings Barry managed to seize and opening, pushing himself forward so he was knocked to the ground.

"I don't understand you're me?!" he breathed out confused.

"I'm sorry I have to do this. This will all make sense eventually." Barry knelt down in one fluid moment, sticking the tranq dart straight in his leg. For a moment, he watched himself lose consciousness before switching their emblems and carrying his body to the side, careful for him not to be discovered by anyone anytime soon.

* * *

* _Outside Rathaway Industries*_

"Where are you oh chosen one?" Hartley spoke condescendingly.

Quickly racing back, Barry rounded around the police officers that surrounded them in an effort to contain the situation. Barry reached around each officer; borrowing each of their batons one by one Barry targeted his throw at Hartley, successfully distracting him and allowing Barry to rush forward yanking his gloves off and seizing him by his jacket yet again.

"Got you again. Not smart as everyone says." Barry smiled smugly.

"Smart enough to really figure out who Dr. Wells really is." He replied coyly.

"You see I know his secret." He smiled and refused to speak more of the subject.

"Barry you there?" Cisco's voiced echoed through the earpiece.

"Yeah I'm back. I'm bringing Hartley in." he breathed out.

* * *

* _Back in the pipeline*_

As he stood in the pipeline looking back at Hartley through the glass, it felt surreal as moments he had lived once before where happening all over again. Yet somehow, slowly and unknowingly things were not happening as he had remembered there were subtle changes to his decisions that were going to affect the way the day would end.

"The scanners are picking up foreign metallic objects in your ears. Take them out."

"I can't. I suffered head trauma when S.T.A.R Labs exploded. My hearing was severely damaged. Without these, I am in pain only you can imagine."

Barry flashes back to past events.

"Cisco see if the devices in his ears are generating an low level electromagnetic pulses."

"You want me to scan for e-bombs?"

"U—I - don't you think that could be what was interfering with the coms?"

"Well, well… trying to go all missions impossible on us? Try and bust out of here?"

Barry immediately spun around, at the sound of Harrison Wells' voice. _"Your silence speaks volumes"_ He spoke in Latin _._

Barry's jaw tensed by just looking at him. It was like everything around him, every sound, every voice spoken had melted away into white noise in the background, and just his loathing and hatred for the man pretending to be his 'hero' was amplified, the feeling he thought he had overcome had returned as if it had never left him.

"Take them out Hartley... Now!" Caitlin ordered, her voice ringing him back into present. Barry blinked momentarily regain his composure, focusing on why he had returned back in time.

As Wells began to depart, Barry took a deep breath before chasing after him.

"Hey Dr Wells." Barry called out.

"That was quite an observation you had with Hartley in there." He commented, leading them down the hallway towards the cortex.

"Yeah it was just too easy you know… taking him down." Barry lied.

"Well a likely reason for that is…" he paused.

Barry's heart skipped for a moment. Stopping as Wells wheeled himself into the cortex. _Shit._

"… that you're getting faster." He finished.

Barry took a sigh of relief and followed Wells into the room.

"Actually I wanted to talk to you about that…"

* * *

* _Cortex*_

"It had occurred to me that we've been going about improving my speed in the wrong way." Barry shrugged crossing his hands across his chest as he moved further into the room, Wells trailing slightly behind him.

"How so?"

"Well I have been learning different techniques involved with running and I was thinking that there is just as much science involved than speed as in anything physical or technical I just can't figure out a way to apply it to me when I run. I thought that if anybody could help me it would be you." Barry said as he finished writing up an equation on the board in front of them.

"This is quite the…. Speed equation you've concocted here isn't Mr. Allen." Wells commented his eyes scanning over Barry.

"Yeah… I've been doing a lot of _reading_ in my down time." Barry lied.

"What on Earth inspired you to adopt such a… what do you call it… unorthodox approach?" he questioned.

"I just know I'm not the fastest man alive. I need to be faster… a lot faster if I'm going to take down the man in yellow." Barry recited.

"So what do you think? Can you help me?" Barry pressed eagerly.

Barry waited, eyeing Wells carefully. Both of them in some sort of intense stare off. Barry tensed as Wells shifted a fraction in his chair, only just to readjust the glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose.

"Let me see what I can do." He smiled, grabbing up one of the markers and turning his attention to the same board.

Barry internally sighed a sign of relief as he too turned to work on the equation.

* * *

* _Hours later*_

Before either of one of them had made an head way into solving the equation, S.T.A.R Labs computers began to beep.

 _*Beep beep beep*_

"CCPD." Wells stated, leaning over to one of the computers.

"I'm sure they have it handled. Right?" Barry shrugged his focus on the equation.

"No. You need to go." Wells ordered.

Barry froze, taking a moment to think of what he was going to do.

"Run Barry run." Sighing, Barry gave a quick grave look at Wells before speeding off.

* * *

 _*Back at S.T.A.R Labs*_

When Barry arrived back from CCPD, his mind was racing far too fast for him to even gather up a single thought. Everything was starting to blur. Nothing that was happening now had happened before. He had changed something. A deep urge of panic settled in the pit of his stomach as he turned the corner, bringing himself to the rest of the team.

"What's going on?" He asked, as Cisco was head deep in concentration at the computers and Caitlin brushing a strand of hair behind her ear as she too was concentrating hard.

"Trying to figure out about this domentor apparently roaming through Central City right now!" Cisco bellowed as his fingers scoured over the keyboard.

"I assume that was the cause for the CCPD alarm." Wells' raised, as he wheeled himself into view.

"Yeah actually it attacked my lab." He swallowed hard.

"You saw it?" Caitlin's said concerned as she looked at him.

"No I didn't see it no. Umm... well I didn't get there in time but I have seen it before." He stammered, trying to figure out a reasonable explanation that wouldn't expose who he really was.

"Where?"

"It was earlier today actually when I was running to take Hartley down." Barry coughed.

"Huh… you're just mentioning this now?" Caitlin raised her voice, slightly angry. He had forgotten how much she hated when he kept things to himself.

"I - um – I didn't know what it was. I thought it was some sort of illusion. I don't know." Barry lied, his eyes dropping down to his feet.

"Well we need to find it before it hurts somebody." Wells nodded towards Cisco and Caitlin.

Barry felt as Caitlin's eyes bore into him, like she was waiting for an explanation. After a moment, she sighed and turned her attention back to the monitor in front of her.

"Can you track it?" Barry whispered towards Cisco.

"What is it with you guys it's like you think I have ESP or something… I can't just magically sense where things are." He said a little annoyed.

"What can you do Cisco?" Wells asked.

"I'm thinking I can reconfigure the S.T.A.R Lab satellite to look for it. It may take some time though." He explained.

"Do it. In the meantime Mr Allen… come with me." He said flatly.

Barry caught Caitlin's eyes. A wave of calmness settled over him, just by looking into her eyes. Offering her a small smile, Barry shoved his hands deep into his pockets as he followed Wells out of the cortex and into a small office down the hall.

"Take a seat." He suggest to Barry as he entered the room.

"Is this about the speed equation?" Barry said a bit too eagerly.

"A matter of fact it is."

"Oh great. Okay good so you've figured it out?" Barry's heart began to race.

 _This was it. This is what he needed to beat Zoom. Finally he could return home._

"Hmm" Wells hummed.

And after that a splitting pain shot through the back of Barry's head and then everything around him fell into immediate darkness.

* * *

Barry jumped awake, his head aching but nothing to painful. His muscles tensing Barry split open his eyes, his right arm bouncing back against something metal, only to realize he was handcuffed to Wells' chair.

Turning his head, Barry blew out a deep breath as he saw Wells, seated opposite him.

"Now who are you? I mean who are you really?" he whispered, eyeing Barry curiously.

"Dr Wells… what are you doing?" Barry fumbled through his lie.

Wells' pulled himself out the chair his was sitting on and began pacing the room, rambling off to himself.

"None of it adds up…. The interference with the coms… the speed equation… the time wraiths. That's what we call them… time wraiths. Scary aren't they?" Wells laughed to himself.

"I thought… oh no a time wraith has found me but then I thought no, no, no you know what you're doing… no the time wraith is after someone who's travelled through time and doesn't know what they are doing."

"Dr Wells it's me… its Barry. I don't…" Barry pleaded.

"Really you are good. You are good. Except that …." He mumbled his voice trailing off as he spoke.

As Barry struggled against his restraint, he stared unflinching as Wells, flashed toward him, his hand vibrating close to his chest.

Wells edged back, towering over Barry as he assessed him cautiously. "Nothing. A move like this? You didn't even flinch. You know who I am, don't you?"

Barry didn't say anything.

"And you're from the future. And do you know how I know that? I haven't taught my Barry Allen how to faze yet." He smiled.

"Let me out of here Thawne." Barry spat.

"I know. You're upset. But it does feel good to hear that name again. So back to the question why are you here?"

"Because I want to go faster and you are the only one who can teach me. You are the only one who's figured out the equation… the speed force…. You've manipulated it. How did you do that?" Barry answered truthfully.

"No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" he repeated.

"You've only come here if something went wrong. If you're still alive… then that means… I hadn't beaten you." He trailed off with the realisation of what that all meant.

"If your still alive that means my plan fails and if my plan fails I don't get to go home… if that's the case…" he turned to Barry, his eyes glowing with a fire of sweet revenge.

"NOOO! Hey, hey it's the opposite. It's the opposite. You trick me you harness my speed we turn on the accelerator to create a path for you to go home. I go back in time. You go back to yours. You won." Barry screamed.

"Then why are you here? Why are you here now?" Thawne questioned threateningly.

"Because when I got back, a singularity had formed. And now the only way to learn to get faster and stop the singularity from happening was to come here… now…"

"Well that's good to know."

"There's just… there's just one thing, that's occurred to me. I don't need you do I? Not this you certainly. Oops. You should have thought of that before you ran back here. Shame. You ran back here just to die." He smiled ruefully.

"You kill me. Barry… this Barry… your Barry. You lose it all. There's a hidden letter…. Telling him how it all ends, how to beat you. _Everything."_ Barry emphasised.

"Anything happens to me. You never make it back home. Go on. Kill me Thawne. See how this all ends." Barry pressured.

When Thawne stood motionlessly watching him, Barry smiled knowing he was safe. At least for now.

"Now you're going to help me get faster."

Barry didn't know how much time had lapsed, but Wells sat unflinchingly watching him with an intense hatred burning deep within his eyes. Barry knew he was thinking of all the ways he could be bluffing weighing against the consequences if he wasn't. The internal struggle he could see in the cracks of Wells' expression almost made him smile.

Tired of the silence and knowing that time was running out Barry opened his mouth to ask him again, but his voice was silenced by Caitlin's cries over the intercoms.

"BARRY! DR WELLS!"

Wells opened up a camera screen, Barry's eyes widened, as he realized that they were trapped down in the pipeline.

"Well we got to help them!" Barry shouted towards Wells.

"It's Caitlin. It's tracked you to her. It tracked you here!" Wells spat!

"Come on! Get me out of here!" he begged fighting desperately against the cuffs.

"If that thing comes after me. If it messes with my plan… You're all dead!" he threatened before releasing Barry.

* * *

"Sorry we didn't come sooner." Barry huffed out as he raced towards Caitlin, his hands outstretched as he helped her up.

"It's alright. Inkies gone. I don't see anything. You know we would have been toast if it wasn't for Hartley and those gantlets." Cisco reiterated.

"Well self-preservation is a good motivator. He stays in his cell until I say otherwise." Wells ordered, leading everyone back to the cortex.

"Okay I'm just saying." Cisco shrugged.

Barry hung back a few paces behind Cisco and Wells. Both of them stopping briefly to the side. Barry held the side of Caitlin's head in his hands. His eyes scouring over her, making sure she was okay.

"I'm okay." She whispered reassuring him, her hand reaching up to meet his as she leaned into his touch.

Smiling, he nodded grazing the side of her cheek with his thumb before dropping his hand and following her into the cortex, both of them acting as nothing happened between them.

"So far that thing has attacked CCPD and here so the common denominator being…." Caitlin added re-joining the conversation.

"Me. Yeah I know. I just don't know why?" Barry finished.

"Well you must have done something to piss him off. The satellites haven't been able to find anything." Cisco said rolling his eyes, plopping himself back down into a chair behind the desk.

"We need to find a permanent solution to this problem. Start by repairing Hartley's gantlets. It is as good as a first step as any." Wells instructed.

"I think I have some spare parts for it." Cisco nodded towards Caitlin.

"Let's go for it." She agreed, both of them moving out of the room and down to Cisco's lab.

"You don't know how to stop a time wraith?" Barry shouted when he was sure the others were out of earshot.

"None of us do that's why we try to avoid them on our travels." Wells commented, his eyes moving from side to side as he tried to think.

"We?"

"Speedsters? We're not the only two out there you know."

"This isn't the first time I've time travelled. How come I've never seen one of these until now?" Barry asked.

"Because you ran out of luck. And time wraiths. Hate it. When speedsters manipulate the timeline and now that thing is going to do everything it can to end you!" he spat back.

"Here's what we're going to do. You are going to go to CCPD. You're going to see what you can find to help us stop this thing. I'll do the same thing here."

"What am I supposed to be looking for?" Barry argued.

"You're in forensics you'll figure it out."

"What about the speed equation? What about me getting faster?" Barry yelled, his hand pointed outwardly to the board across the room.

"If we don't stop this thing there is no point of me teaching you about anything." He spat back, before turning his back on him.

* * *

* _CCPD*_

Tossing over the scattered pieces of paper on the floor, Barry gave a heavy sigh. _What was he doing here?_ There is nothing here that could lead them to the time wraith. It was pointless. Burying his head in hands, Barry closed his eyes and took a deep breath… he needed to go back to S.T.A.R Labs.

* * *

 _*S.T.A.R Labs*_

 _"Where is he? Where's the other Flash?"_ Barry heard his voice in the distance.

 _Oh no!_ The tranq must have worn off. His breathing picking up speed, Barry paced up and down in front of the cortex before realizing there was nothing else he could do to fix this. Composing himself, Barry walked himself into the room.

"I'm right here."

Barry looked around the room; everyone besides Wells looked at him their mouths gaping.

"Ohhh kay… not how I expected today to start out." Cisco stammered, walking down towards him, his never blinking.

"Yeah." Barry sighed.

"I—I'm sorry wh—who are you?" his past self-stuttered confused.

"Who is he? Who are you?" Caitlin questioned accusingly at his past self.

"Wha? I'm Barry… Your Barry! He's-" he reasoned.

"Your doppelgänger!" Cisco finished.

"Not yet. I am. You. Barry." Barry corrected.

"Just different." He explained.

"Wait a second how can we be sure who's the real Barry?" Cisco eyed both of the suspiciously.

"Dude… okay I've watch wrath of khan with you like five times."

"IMPOSTER!" Cisco pointed towards him.

"Yeah and every time at the end you turn to me and say I have been and always shall be your friend." Barry added.

"Ah-ha! You imposter!" he shouted to his past self.

"What's going on here?" Cisco whispered a little frightened.

"I'm sorry. This wasn't supposed to happen. The tranq dart Cait gave me was supposed to last a lot longer." Barry explained.

"I did not give him a tranq dart." Caitlin raised her hand defensively.

"Okay no yes, not you. The you from the time that I am from."

" _The time that you are from?"_ His past self-repeated.

"I think what he's trying to say is that he is from the future." Wells interjected.

"The future?" his past self-stuttered.

"The future." Wells repeated.

"The future?"

Wells turned to past Barry, glaring at him causing him to shut up. "Yes."

"Are we saying I can time travel?"

Barry smiled. "One day."

"Oh that explains the white on the symbol. But wait a second. Supposed we change your emblem, will it because we got the idea from this or… that would mean…" Cisco rambled.

"Stop talking." Wells instructed, turning his attention back to Barry.

"You stop talking to. Alright. The more you say the more the timeline is disrupted. Now I'm going to assume that your presence here is the reason that thing is attacking us…" he suggested to Barry.

"What thing?" his past self-asked.

"Have you ever seen the frighteners?" Cisco asked.

His past self-nodded.

"Well it's like that but scarier and faster and its after you.. him." He explained.

"It's been chasing me ever since I got here." Barry added.

"So how do we stop it?"

"We don't know." Wells said flatly his eyes still locked onto Barry.

"Then what we going to do?"

"One thing we can." Wells sighed wheeling out of the room.

* * *

Barry reluctantly followed Wells back into the room, his eyes glued to the yellow suit showcased to view in one for the four walls.

"What are we doing here?" Barry grunted, his arms crossing over his chest.

"We are here for the answer to your speed equation. The reason that you travelled back to this time and the key to going faster… tachyon enhancement."

"This was not the deal." Barry objected furiously.

"If you think I'm going to hold your hand this entire way you're sadly mistaken. Everything you need is on this drive. If you follow the instructions… you will enhance the speed force in your system and run faster… faster than you ever thought possible." Wells spat back handing Barry a usb.

Barry looked down at his open palm, before peering back up at Wells.

"If this doesn't work... I'm coming back." He promised as he took the drive.

"Dr Wells we need you." Caitlin's voice chimed over the speakers.

"Time to go home. _Flash."_ Wells smiled.s

* * *

Barry stood back down in the pipeline. Pulling on his mask, Barry took a deep breath. _This was it. He was going home._ Speeding off, Barry propelled himself forward, the sreech of the dominator letting him know he was no longer alone. Leaning further, Barry raced around the pipeline, generating speed until a breach between times began to form above him.

For a moment, Barry felt the heaviness of the dominator trying to drag him back. He was slowing down. In the next second, the weight was gone and he had broken through flashing back he thought of her voice pulling him back into the present.

Barry fell to the floor, back into 2017. Heaving his head craned around looking for it.

"Its coming!" he shouted breathlessly.

"Did you even go?" Caitlin stated looking at him curiously on the floor.

"The time wraith." Barry pointed over her shoulder.

"That's a good name." Cisco agreed.

"Did you find a way to stop it?"

Cisco pulled out a weapon in front of him and spinning around in time to shoot it. For a moment, it seemed to have affected it, but it didn't last long.

"Damn we thought so!" Cisco mumbled dropping the weapon, leaning back into the desk his arms protectively shielding Caitlin.

Barry too weak to move, shifted forward, the dominator seeking him out, floated over them towards him.

The skeletal like fingers wrapped around Barry's neck. Everything seemed to turn cold as the life began to drain out of him. Trying to fight against the hold, Barry slowly began to lose consciousness.

"BARRRY!" Caitlin cried, fighting against Cisco's grip as she tried to get to him.

Barry tried to call out to her but his voice was lost. Before the darkness swallowed him whole, a low constant pulse pulled the dominator away, reducing it to pieces and a flood of heat and colour came back to Barry.

"I suddenly realise low frequency high intensity." Hartley smiled.

Barry looked up at Hartley. _What?_

"Oh hey Barry… how was your trip?" he said softly offering a hand towards Barry.

Barry was too tired to even think instead he fell back to the ground breathless.

Caitlin struggled around the desk, kneeling down to him, her hands on his chest.

"I'm okay." He smiled reassuringly at him.

Caitlin still looked over him with a careful eye, helping him upright.

"So besides having a time wraith coming around here and trying to kill us… how did it go?" Cisco asked eagerly.

"So far so… _good_ " he answered looking from Cisco towards Hartley.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

"So now that you've got the speed equation, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to end this. Once and for all."

Caitlin dropped her gaze to her hands. She didn't want to admit how worried this all made her. But she knew Barry. He was never one to give up. Not when there were people who needed saving. Instead she bit her tongue and forced a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Sensing her uneasiness, Barry grabbed her hand, grazing his thumb over her knuckles.

"Let's not think about it now. I just want to go home and start thinking about baby names."

Smiling, Caitlin leaned forward kissing him on the lips.

"Let's go home."


	17. Loss

**I'm BACK! Did you guys miss me? Well I'm back and with me is a new chapter in my mini version of the show. As always I hope you enjoy because we all need a little bit of the Flash in our lives since we won't get the new season until October so until then here's a little something to keep you guys warm.**

 **It's soo good to be back! Season 2 storyline almost done! Who's excited?**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own the Flash nor its characters._**

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

It had been a few days since Barry ran back in time to get the speed equation. Exhausted, they had managed to decode the equation. He was finally one step closer to getting faster… one step closer to stopping Zoom and making sure everyone he loved was safe. It was the first time since they found out the truth about Zoom, that he actually felt as though they were going to win. There was finally hope for the happy ending he had always wanted for his family. He was finally one step ahead. With his head propped up against the bed head, Barry smiled down at his wife as she lay beside him, her chest rising and falling in even beats as she breathed. Her messy, scattered around her Barry threaded his fingers gently through her strands, his fingers gently grazing across the top of her head. A sudden movement, Barry froze careful not to wake her. Barry watched her cautiously as she rolled over onto her back, untangling her legs from his, slowly removing the two layers of covers from her body as she slept. Barry bit down on his lips trying to stop himself from laughing. Sliding down next to her, Barry propped himself onto his elbow, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. Reaching over, he caressed the top of her belly. It amazed him knowing that his child was in there. Running his hands over her soft skin, Barry smiled, she was starting to show. Leaning in, he closed his eyes and whispered.

"Hey there baby…" he began.

"It's me… you're dad. I don't know if you can hear me just yet but in case you can I need you to know something… Sometimes in this world, terrible things can happen to us… things that can define who we become, whether we want them to or not… some of us have become stronger because of it. Just like your mother… like me. The people who took me in helped me heal and helped me move past everything that happened. They're responsible for who've I become today. But I know that I am one of the lucky ones. Not everyone gets that kind of support. Without it I don't know where I would have ended up… or what I could have become. You may be wondering why I'm telling you this… it's because we do live in a big and scary world. A world where the impossible is possible and that there are things that can really hurt you and scare you. But no matter whatever happens... never doubt how much I love you and how much I love your mother. I may not have had my dad growing up but your grandpa Joe was nothing short of one and I promise you… you will never lack one. I will be there… to take care of you… to protect you… to help you when you need it most. When you grow up, I hope I get to see you happy. I love you baby." Smiling Barry leaned over kissing the top her belly.

"Always." He whispered, his lips grazing against her skin as she slept.

* * *

* _The next morning*_

Having finally found sleep, Barry stirred awake, reaching out his arm across the sheets to find them void of the warmth of her body. Opening his eyes, Barry's heat began to beat hard against his chest as panic set in. Barry sprang upright, his eyes adjusting to the light streaming in through the open bedroom window. _Where was she?_ As his eyes scanned across the room, his muscles relaxed in relief, his eyes softening when he caught sight of Caitlin walking in barefoot, her hair falling messily across the sides of her face. Barry drank in the sight of his wife. She wore light shorts that hung off the sides of her hips, while her singlet top hugged tightly risen above her stomach exposing the small bump that was their son or daughter growing inside.

"Good morning." She smiled up at him as she crawled back onto the bed, edging her way back up toward him.

Her eyes locked onto his, Caitlin leaned in kissing him. Barry opened his eyes as she pulled away the taste of her lips still lingering on his tongue. Brushing a loose strand out of hair behind her ear, Barry tangled his fingers into her hair, his thumb gently caressing the side of her cheek.

"Good morning" he whispered back before pulling her back to him, her mouth forcefully crashing into his lips.

Without hesitation, her mouth opened in response. Their tongues meeting, dancing as she shifted herself so she straddled him. She pushed her body against him as she teasingly bit down hard on his bottom lip. Using his hands, Barry's hands manoeuvred their way under her shirt across her bare back, his hands sliding down to rest at the side of her waist. His fingers dug into her skin as he pulled her closer. Caitlin moaned in response as she felt him beneath her.

Pulling away breathlessly, Caitlin looked down into his eyes. "Wait, we have to get going. We have a long-." She trailed off distractedly.

Planting tiny kisses along her collarbone, Caitlin tangled her fingers into his hair as she tilted her head back allowing him more access to her neck.

"I think we can sacrifice a few minutes." He whispered between kisses up her neck, along the side of her jaw until his lips found their back to hers.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

* _S.T.A.R Labs*_

"Okay guys I'm here… you got my location?" Barry's voice sounded through the coms.

"You good? You don't need to like stretch or something?" Cisco asked.

"No, no, no… I'm good. I got my morning stretch in already." Barry smirked.

At this remark, Caitlin couldn't help blushing, her cheeks turning a soft shade of red as the heat rose to her cheeks.

Subtly coughing to clear her throat, Caitlin busied herself with checking over Barry's vitals _again_ as she felt the pressure of eyes from Cisco and the rest of the team on her.

"Let's take this tachyon enhancer for a test drive." She said distracting everyone's attention back towards Barry.

"Alright." Barry said.

There was a slight pause, which she assumed Barry took to place the device over his chest. Caitlin peeked through the corner of her eye. Everyone seemed now focused back to Barry. Sighing in relief, Caitlin turned her attention back to her screen. For a moment, there was a slight spike in Barry's vitals before it returned to normal and then Barry's voice came streaming back through the coms.

"Woohh yeah. I feel that!" Barry cheered.

"That is the tachyon device powering up the speed force in your cells like a quick charge battery. How do you feel?" Caitlin asked a little worried but curious.

"Different." He whispered back.

"Let's see how long it takes for you to get back here. On my count." Cisco advised tracking Barry's location.

"3…2…1... GO!"

"Dayum this thing has you cruising." Cisco emphasised excited.

"How fast does he usually go?" Iris asked from over her shoulder.

"Not this fast." Caitlin whispered back, her eyes glued to the small red dot racing through cities.

"Not even close. How's he's vitals?" Cisco added.

"It's completely normal." Caitlin smiled relieved.

"Perfect. It's like having a pit stop attached to your chest." Iris cheered.

"Guys I could go faster!" Barry called over.

"Do it." Cisco said back his eyes widening in excitement.

Caitlin watched as the little blip that was her husband cruise faster than he had ever gone before. Her knuckles white, as she gripped the side of her chair tightly, Caitlin didn't know why she was so anxious. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to relax, her fingers loosening their grip she watched as the colour returned back to her hands.

It didn't take long until Barry raced back, sliding to a stop in the middle of the room, flustered. Caitlin pushed herself out her chair, racing around to him wrapping her arms around him. Barry pulled her tightly against him like he hadn't seen her in days.

Barry weaved his hands to the side of her face, his eyes looking into hers with a burning intensity before he crashed his lips to hers desperate.

Pulling away she heard his soft mumbles "I'm back… I'm back."

Dropping his hands to the small of her back as he held her to his side, he looked directly between her and Cisco.

"How long was I gone?" he asked a bit frantically.

Caitlin looked at him, her eyes creasing together watching him cautiously.

"Let's put it this way you just annihilated your old record." Cisco yelped excitedly.

"You went four times faster than you have ever been." Caitlin whispered, her hand resting on his chest.

"Four times?" he mumbled as he looked around the room in disbelief.

Caitlin nodded. Barry looked back down at her, a large grin spreading across his face. Overjoyed, Barry lifted Caitlin into his arms swirling her around before placing her back down.

Caitlin couldn't help but join in his happiness even though the sudden movement had made her a bit nauseous.

"That's as fast as…" he began to say as Barry eased her back down the ground, Caitlin's body slide down against his, her feet found solid ground again.

"As Zoom. Well faster actually." A distinct voice grunted from behind them.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

"Hey can we look at getting this thing smaller… it kind of sucks."

With his arm wrapped snug around Caitlin's waist, Barry used his free hand to unlock the device from his chest extending it out towards Harry.

"If it sucks then yeah." He replied sarcastically snatching it from his hand and turning his back to them.

"Thanks." Barry mumbled weirdly. _What's his problem!?_ He thought as he eyed him cautiously.

"Well no all we have to do is figure out a way to get back to Earth two." Barry added as he tilted his back down towards Caitlin, a light smile playing on the edges of his lips.

"Minor issues we closed all the breaches and have no idea how to reopen them." Cisco said interrupting the small lingering moment between him and Caitlin.

"We do—umm Wells? Any ideas?" Barry asked turn back to Harry.

"I have an idea Allen, keep all the breaches closed… forget about Zoom." He replied roughly.

"Wait, I thought you were on board with this?"

"No… no I said I'd help you get _faster_. I did not say I would help you give the man who kidnapped my daughter and tortured her I am not giving him a chance to do it again!" Harry yelled.

"Hey were not going to let that happen." Barry reassured him, dropping his arm around Caitlin and stepping closer to Harry.

"Oh no you're not going to let that happen… Gosh I wish I knew that the first time. YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! Zoom is different than us. Zoom is not tied to anything. Zoom does not care for anyone. _I do_. My daughter is out there somewhere and I have to find her. We all have people we care about and Zoom will use that against us. Believe me." He finished before storming out of the room.

Barry was left with his mouth hanging open, his mouth dry lost for a response.

"Maybe we should leave it be." Caitlin whispered, pulling Barry's attention back to her.

Barry opened his mouth then shut it before opening it back up again.

"No. No. We're not turning our backs on another earth. We are not going to let Zoom get away with everything that he's done." Barry said firmly.

Caitlin shrugged and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Right now… there is no way to another Earth Allen. Let's keep it that way." Harry interjected, picking up something off the desk he had forgotten.

As soon as he left, Barry turned to face the rest of the team.

"We're getting back to earth two. With or without he's help." He promised.

Looking around at everyone in the room, nod in agreement, Barry sighed a little in relief that his friends were still willing to help him out, even though they still had no clear plan in how to stop Zoom.

"Let's get back to work." Cisco suggested, gesturing to the rest of the gang to follow him out.

"And how's our little one going on in there?"

"Okay." She smiled weakly without meeting his eyes.

"Good." He muttered placing his hand on the top of her belly.

"And how are you?"

"I'm fine."

"Cait look at me… talk to me." He pleaded with her.

Barry held his breath waiting for his answer.

"What do you want me to say? That I'm scared? That every time you leave… I hold my breath waiting for you to walk back through that door?" she said her voice rising.

"Don't worry about it. It all be okay." He reassured her, his hand caressing the sides of her face in both his hands.

"Don't worry about it? All I do is worry about it. It scares me that when you walk through that door it could be the last time. And I can't… I can't do this alone, Barry… I can-"

"Hey, hey… I'll be okay. We're going to be okay." He said hastily wrapping his arms around Caitlin hugging her close to his chest.

Barry felt her arms tighten her grip; Barry leaned down kissing her on the top of her head whispering that everything was going to be okay.

* * *

* _Later that night*_

Fidgeting with his hands, Barry looked up watching as the number in the elevator elevated high as he dropped further down towards the sublevel to reach the cortex. As soon as the doors of the elevator peeked open, Barry slimmed his way through impatient. His mind racing with the realization he had at Joe's. _How could he have not thought about this before?_ He cursed at himself. Everything becoming clearer, Barry was one step closer to ending all of this. They were going to stop Zoom. _Yes._ They were going back to Earth 2.

Speeding his way humanly possible down the corridor, rounding the corner into the cortex, Barry stopped short behind the main desk, his brows pulling together as he focused on the ramblings and equations sprawled across a clear board in various coloured markers.

"Hey… wow… um any ideas?" Barry muttered as he tried reading the board from the opposite side.

"Well the best plan we've come up with so far is to set off a nuclear warhead next to the cities electrical grid so..." Cisco shrugged slamming his head against the clear board in front of him exhausted.

"We're not going to do that." Barry stutter looking at Cisco a little concerned.

"But I think I've thought of something though." He finished a sly smile playing at the edges of his mouth.

Pausing, Barry looked from Cisco to Caitlin and back.

"Cisco I think that the way back to Earth 2 is you."

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

 _*Basement*_

Caitlin watched over the two boys warily. Barry was over confident this way would work. His idea was plausible, but the idea that Cisco was the key to reopening the door to Earth 2 concerned her. But she wasn't going to speak her fears out loud. There wasn't anything else for her to do but support Barry and help as much as she could for him not to try and kill himself.

Her hands tearing up as she watched anxiously for Cisco to accept his powers and open a breach, she held her breath unsure of what would come out of one if he did.

"I got nothing." Cisco sighed dropping his hands to his sides.

Caitlin drew a secretively sigh of relief.

"Try again." Barry pushed.

Caitlin placed her hand on Barry's forearm, her hand squeezing him gently beaconing him to look at her.

"Barry what if he can't do it is because he can't do it?" she stated sympathetically.

Barry's expression fell. His face unsure of what he should do. Looking into his eyes he seem a little lost. An inner battle within him she could see he was fighting to win. Within a split second of doubt, Barry turned his head back towards Cisco.

"He can. You can do it." Barry encouraged desperately.

Caitlin's smile drew into a straight line. Withdrawing her hand away from him, Caitlin stepped back away, crossing her hand across her chest as Cisco tried once again… and once again failed.

"It's going to work. Maybe we're not in the right place." Barry mumbled softly, his eyes moving side to side as he thought of possible places a breach could be opened.

"Or maybe I'm not the man for job alright." Cisco shouted, his voice echoing in the vastness of the room.

"Cisco…" Barry cooed reaching out for him.

Cisco held up his hands defensively, edging himself away before rushing out of the room.

Caitlin's eyes followed after her friend before pulling herself back to Barry.

Barry threw his hands in his hair as he began to pace the room. Caitlin's eyes softened as she watched over her husband. Reaching out, her hands fell to his chest, bringing him to a stop. She felt as his heart rate began to ease back into a normal rhythm under her touch. With his eyes closed she waited as he took in a deep breath before slowly opening his eyes to look at her.

"I'm sorry Barry… I'll go talk to him." She whispered before pulling away and seeking out her best friend.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

* _Abandoned hospital*_

To think that he couldn't fall in love with his wife any more than he already has, she constantly surprises him. After a meaningful pep talk and reassurance from Caitlin, Cisco had agreed to follow Barry to one of the previous breach sites.

Following the data from the re-configured satellites, he and Cisco followed the readings to a run-down building.

"This area has the highest residual tri-dimensional energy… you should be able to open up a breach that used to be here. It's here… this is it." he stated pointing into the centre of the room.

"What in this patch apple right here?" Cisco spat sarcastically, as they looked around the paint chipped and heavily dust coated room.

"Yeah." Barry confirmed.

Cisco unaware as Barry observed him; he noticed the uncertainty and fear. Pulling him aside, Barry placed both hands on his friend's shoulders and looked at him square in the eye.

"Bro if this doesn't work I'll stop asking you to do it." Barry promised his friend.

"I can't do it."

"That's right you can't." Harry's voice echoed into the room.

Spinning around, Barry saw Harry over Cisco's shoulder.

"What are you doing here? I thought you said…" Barry began.

"I know what I said Allen but you're not going to stop are you?"

"No." Barry replied honestly.

"Okay Barry Allen… then I'm going to do what I can to make sure you don't get killed. I recalibrated these to the frequency of this earth. This should help you access enough of the tri-dimensional energy… to manipulate it." Harry stated, finishing he moved his way over to Cisco handing him the glasses.

"Just like Reverb. All I'm missing is the guy liner and the transformations complete." Cisco muttered sarcastically as he motioned slowly putting the glasses on.

"Take it out for a spin." Barry said trying not to sound too hopeful.

Holding his breath, Barry watched over Cisco cautiously… every movement replaying in slow motion. Suddenly, out of the thin air, there seemed to be a pull and a small void of blue and white tints of coloured clouds began to form.

"It's working. It's working." He whispered, edging himself closer to it.

Before Barry could even reach close enough, the breach disappeared faster than Cisco created it.

"Hey, hey what happened? You were doing it." Barry stammered, his heart beating hard against his chest… his expression confused and desperate.

Cisco turned to him, ripping of the glasses in fear; he turned to face Barry, his eyes wide and hollow. Barry wasn't sure what had happened, but the look in his friend's eyes was as though he was only things of nightmare.

"No. no. no. Please don't ask me to do it!" he stuttered.

"What?" Barry asked desperately, reaching for answers and more importantly to comfort his friend.

"PLEASE! PLEASE DON'T ASK ME!" Cisco yelled, shakily shoving the glasses back against Barry's chest.

Stumbling back by the force, Barry was left confused his eyes glued to the place where the door to Earth 2 had just been closed and without Cisco… _maybe for good._

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

 _*Back at S.T.A.R Labs*_

Dusting off the cheddar from her fingers, Caitlin crunched down on the remaining few chips when Barry returned back to S.T.A.R Labs.

"Is Cisco back yet have you seen him?" he asked her, his eyes scanning the rest of the room as he made his way up to her.

"I haven't seen him." Caitlin shrugged turning back to face her desk. She heard as Barry reached her, his hands resting on the back of her shoulders as he leaned down to kiss the top of her head.

"Check his work shop." Harry grunted under his breath, as he threw his bag on top of the desk next to her, the clanking of the metal startling her.

"Yeah alright thanks." Barry sighed.

Caitlin felt as the warmth of Barry's hands left her, his body moving next to her. She watched him warily as he sat on the edge of her desk, bowing his head into his hands with a heavy sigh.

Pulling away from her desk, Caitlin stood up, wedging herself between Barry's legs, she used her fingers to pry away his hands from his face gently. Barry looked up at her as he wrapped his arms around her waist, interlocking his fingers together behind her back.

"What happened?" she asked concerned.

"Nothing." He sighed, leaning forward and resting his head against her chest.

"Did you need me to talk to him again?"

"No. I should do it. But thank you." He whispered looking back up at her with a warm smile.

Nodding, Barry untangled himself from her, allowing her to step back and let him back up on his feet.

Following close behind him as they stepped into the cortex, they were greeted warmly by the rest of the West family.

"Hey." Caitlin smiled.

"Hey we came by to see if you guys needed some help." Iris cheered with broad smile back.

"Sure I think I could use the help. Want to come to the med bay?" Caitlin suggested.

Iris shrugged "Sure."

Barry kissing her cheek quickly, Caitlin motioned Iris away as Joe bee lined straight towards Barry, both of them deep in conversation as quickly as their eyes met.

* * *

* _Med bay*_

Sliding herself behind her desk, Iris propped herself up on to the bed, her legs dangling off the edge as she overwatched Caitlin switch on her tablet.

From the other side of the glass window, Caitlin could hear the distinct laughter of her husband. Watching the kindled and relaxed interaction between Barry and Joe, a smile grew across her face.

"They really have a special bond don't they." She noted warmly her hand instinctively falling over her stomach.

"Yeah they sure do don't they?" Iris agreed.

In that moment, Caitlin's eyes dropped over her hand. Her mind wondering off to the future. God did she hope for her child to have that kind of relationship with Barry. _He'd make a great father._ She thought, the smile still lingering on her face.

"Wait… your pregnant aren't you?" Iris exclaimed, jumping off the bed.

Forgetting she wasn't alone, Caitlin's hands covered her stomach protectively as she flinched startled by Iris' exclamation.

With a broad smile, Caitlin nodded happily.

"Omg congratulations! I'm so happy for you two!" she squealed pulling Caitlin into a tight hug.

"Thank-you! Means a lot. But we haven't told anyone yet." She said as she pulled away, looking Iris in the eye.

"You're secrets safe with me." She smiled coyly.

"I'm so happy for you two! Omg I'm going to be and Aunt!" she exclaimed excitedly.

Caitlin couldn't help but laugh… Iris' current excitement infectious.

Then it suddenly dawned on her. All the worries and fears that she had been keeping to herself… that she had pushed to the very back corners of her mind began flooding in full force to the front of her brain.

 _What if they open the breach and Zoom returns? What if they can't stop Zoom? His going to kill them all aren't they? Zoom is Jay! How could he betray them like that? Was everything she thought about Jay… been all in her mind? How are they going to raise a child with Zoom still out there? Will her child know her father?_

"You okay?" Iris' voice echoed though her brain, pulling her back into reality.

"Hey you okay? You seem a little pale?" Iris asked concerned.

"Yeah… I'm just a little anxious that's all." Caitlin gave a weak smile.

As Iris gazed intently back at her, she knew that she wasn't buying her answer. Taking a deep breath, she confessed.

"I get why Barry wants to open the breach, but with Zoom and everything he's already done… it just scares me that our child will never get to have what they have…" looks over to Joe and Barry laughing.

"Hey, hey, it won't come down to that. You know that Barry won't let anything happen." She reassured her.

"I know." She whispered, looking back out the glass to her husband, a smile spread wide across his face as he enjoyed some friendly banter with his father.

"Enough about me… you okay?" she said shaking her head and placing her attention back to Iris, trying to distract herself from diving back into her worries and fears.

"I was meant to go on a date last night… my first real date since Eddie died." She stated.

"Is this because of Eddie or something else?" Caitlin asked.

"I don't really know…" she frowned.

"Well I'm sure you'll figure it out. And when you're ready… taking it from someone who's been where you are now, slipping back into it will become easier with time. _Trust me."_

"Thanks Caitlin."

"Anytime." She smiled, hugging her.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

As they drove home, Barry noticed Caitlin distractedly looking out the window, her mind trailing off to somewhere off in the distance. Her hand resting over her stomach.

"Cait… you okay?"

"Hmm?" she turned to him.

"What's on your mind?" he asked worried, his eyes darting from her and back to the road.

"Nothing." She reassured him, taking his hand and interlocking her fingers with his.

Barry's jaw tightened. He knew she was lying. Not wanting to pressure her, he dropped the issue for now and continued their way home.

As the keys clicked open the door, Barry pushed it open, stepping aside to let Caitlin through. He watched her carefully as both of the shrugged out of their jackets, Barry closing the door behind him, his eyes still on her. Caitlin threw off her shoes, pushing them off to the side, stepping down she moved towards the couch curling onto it exhausted. Barry followed her, lifting up her legs, he sat beside her, dropping her legs back down over his. Propping his head over his fist, Barry looked at her, not speaking.

"I'm tired that's all." She promised him as his eyes bore into her.

"Cait… what were you thinking about in the car."

"Baby names." She lied.

"Cait…"

"I was thinking Bart for a boy. We'd name him after you." She smiled.

Letting out a deep sigh, he knew she wasn't going to talk about it. Giving in, he smiled and played along.

"And for a girl?"

And for the rest of the night, they dreamed of their future until she off fell into the spell of darkness, Caitlin wrapped up in Barry's arms as he watching over her as she slept.

* * *

* _The next day*_

"You're all set. You won't even know it's there." Harry noted as he finished placing the tachyon device behind the emblem of Barry's suit.

"And who said aesthetics aren't important?" Cisco smirked.

"Not me. Let's go." Harry said flatly before turning on his heel and heading over to tinker with something else on the side.

Barry smiled as he admired over the suit. _Yes!_ He cheered. They were closer to being one step ahead of Zoom. For once there was hope. Spinning around, he noticed Caitlin, glass eyed staring off before her biting down on her lip.

Closing the distance between them, Barry placed his hands on either side of her shoulders, his hands soothing over them.

"Hey Cait..." he whispered at her.

Blinking, Caitlin released her lip from her teeth and looked up at him a little lost. Searching her eyes he could see the fear in them. He knew what she was keeping from him last night. She kept screaming out for him in her dreams. It was killing him that this fear was eating her up inside.

"Babe…I know how hard this is going to be for you…" he began

"But we have to stop him." He trailed off softly.

Caitlin closed her eyes, her head falling against his chest.

Barry wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly against her. He felt as her chest rose to take a deep breath. Propping her head up from under his chin, he loosened his grip around her to better see her.

Her eyes were soft and watery as she looked into his.

"I know… and I want to be supportive…" she stammered, choking on her words.

"but it's just I can't face Jay… whatever his real name is." She finished her voice turning bitter.

"What does that mean?" Barry questioned, his brows pulling together confused.

"Well you remember when I was looking for his doppelgänger right?"

"Ah yeah but you couldn't find him right." He noted.

"Because there is no _Jay Garrick_ on this Earth. His doppelgänger's name is Hunter Zolomon." She spat out his name.

As Barry opened his mouth, his words were silenced by Harry's voice.

"Hun-nter Zolomon… are you sure?" he questioned.

"Yeah why?" Caitlin nodded, pulling out of Barry's embrace and crossing her arms over her chest protectively.

"Uhh well because on my earth Hunter Zolomon was a convicted serial killer." Harry stated, as he pulled up news articles of Hunter onto the plasma screen.

"That's Jay?" Caitlin stammered horrified.

Barry stepped closer to the screen, closely examining the article word for word as he read.

"Nope. That is Hunter. Last public photo of Hunter Zolomon. Instantly recognisable for people from my earth… serial killers are an anomaly so a lot of media attention to this. There was a podcast. When Hunter was eleven his father killed his mother… right in front of him. Father sent to prison, Hunter grew up in the foster care system." Harry said relaying over the general facts.

"Years later he was convicted on 23 counts of murder?!" Barry read out loud.

"23! That's like some real Hannibal Lector type level." Cisco commented.

As he read he felt Caitlin come up beside him. Glancing over his shoulder, her eyes were transfixed to the screen just as he was. Her red rimmed and glazed over. He could feel the betrayal she felt radiating off her expression. Interlocking his fingers with hers, he gave her hand a tight squeeze.

"And after the trial Hunter was sent to the St Perez mental asylum for the mentally insane. Given daily electroshock therapy, curing him of his urges then fading from view." Barry continued.

"Until the night your particle accelerator exploded." Caitlin finished.

"That's right. The dark matter crept into the mental asylum. I thought piping the explosion underground would limit the exposure. I was wrong. All it did was create an unstoppable monster." Harry stated guiltily.

"He's not unstoppable." Barry corrected.

"Jay doesn't know that we know who he is. He thinks he's past is a secret."

"So?" Cisco pressed.

"I think I have an idea how to stop him."

* * *

* _Hours later*_

With the final details of the plan being hatched out, Barry took Caitlin by the hand, guiding her just outside the cortex.

Stopping just around the corner, Caitlin rested herself against the wall, her eyes looking up at him worried. Brushing a loose strand of hair out of her face and behind her ear, looked at her his expression serious.

"I need you to promise me to stay with Harry and Joe tonight." He pleaded with her unable to meet her eyes.

"Barry-"

"Cait please…" his voice shook.

Reaching down, he placed his hand over her belly. His thumb grazing slightly over the top.

"I need you to promise me. I need you to be safe. Both of you. If anything happens. If this goes wrong…" he trailed off.

"I promise." She whispered, a tear falling down the side of her cheek.

A small dose of relief coursing through his muscles, Barry leaned his forehead to hers.

"I don't know what I'd do if I lost both of you."

"And you won't" she said defiantly.

"Because you're going to stop Zoom. And you're going to end this. It's going to work. And you're going to make it back to me… to _us._ I know it."

Nodding against her head, Barry pulled away slightly, his hands now wrapped around either side of her face. His eyes locked into hers. Without warning he crashed his lips against hers, pulling her to him desperately. Pushing herself into him, Caitlin opened herself up in a way she could only be with him. He kissed her deeply as if this were the last time he'd see her. He hoped it wouldn't but he wasn't going to take the chance not to say goodbye. Even if she didn't know it.

"I love you." He whispered against her lips.

"I love you too." She cried.

* * *

 _They did it! They're plan worked._ Barry tore off his mask. His breathing heavy as he made his way over to Zoom. Pushing him down, Barry ripped off his mask exposing Zoom for who he really is. Jay Garrick… _friend…_ Hunter Zolomon… _enemy._

"How did you figure out who I was?" Hunter huffed out as he fell to his knees on the floor staring up at Barry.

Barry slowly knelt down so that he was level with Zoom. His eyes never faltering as they stared at each other.

"You made a mistake. You told Caitlin who your doppelganger was." Barry whispered.

"I _NEEDED_ to do something to make her _STOP_ trying to… fix me. She's a smart girl." He smiled to himself.

"And that I was Zoom?"

"The velocity 9. When you run fast enough it turns a speedsters lightning blue." Barry explained.

"We would have helped you… we would have done anything we could to save your life."

"Not everything." Hunter smirked knowingly.

"CAITLIN FOUND YOU A CURE!" Barry shouted.

"A TEMPORARY ONE! I'm DYING Barry! There is only _ONE_ thing that can get me what I need." He exclaimed.

"And you just don't care how many lives you destroy to get it. _HOW MANY PEOPLE YOU KILL?"_

"NO I DON'T! That feeling was taken from me a long time ago." Hunter spat back.

Turning his back in frustration, Barry ran his hands through his hair.

"We're not so different you know. What happened to us when we were kids... You could easily have just become me." Hunter seethed.

"No. I'd never become like you." Barry said shaking his head.

"I got to say. That was smart. To use my family against me. Family. Such a weakness." Hunter began to laugh, as he pulled himself slowly off the ground.

Barry watched, his body tensing at his sudden movements.

"Not for all of us." Barry objected.

"Well that's were your wrong. Now it's time I came for what I came for." Hunter smiled.

Barry shook his head.

"You're not getting anything from me. You're not getting anything from anyone from any earth."

Hunter looked down to the ground. Barry's brows pulled together worried. His body tensing as he watched Zoom's body turn ridged.

"You can't lock up the darkness." Zoom muttered softly under his breath.

"What did you say?" Barry took a step forward unable to understand what he said.

"YOU CANT LOCK UP THE DARKNESS!" He roared, his eyes turning black.

Frozen, it only took less than a second for Barry to react but by that time Zoom had already broken out of the power dampener and escaped leaving Barry screaming after him as he ran throughout the city after him.

"NOOO!" Barry cried out breathlessly as Zoom vanished.

* * *

* _West Residence*_

There was an eerie silence as they sat in the living room. A dark shadow hung over them as they loomed over their next move. Every stood motionless, frozen in their own minds. Barry sat melted into the couch, his elbows propped upon his knees, his hands covering her mouth as he stared blankly ahead.

 _It was his fault._ They weren't ready for this. They didn't think the plan through and now because of _him_ … Wally paid the price and is now held hostage. _Dammit!_ He cursed.

"What if we could stop Zoom by a vibe somehow. We could weaponise the googles…" Cisco suggested, pacing up and down the room.

"Enough weaponising Ramon." Harry said bluntly.

"Okay what if we modify the pulse rifle to emit a level EMF?" Caitlin added from beside him.

Barry shifted back, drawing on a deep breath as he began listening in.

"We don't have the equipment to modify the pulse rifle Snow." Harry disregarded a little bit more nicely.

"Then we do another snatch and grab mission." Said Cisco.

"By the time we scale those cliffs, Zoom could have already…" Harry began to explain before Joe cut him off.

"I NEED A MINUTE!" he bellowed before storming off upstairs.

Startled by the sudden volume, Barry turned around just as Joe disappeared off to the right of the first landing.

There was a brief silence before everyone began clambering over solutions.

Barry buried his head back into his hands. He felt as Caitlin's hand graze over his back, trying to soothe him. Peeking his head back up, he turned to face her.

"Hey babe how you doing with all of this?" she whispered close to him.

Barry looked at her for a moment. She was strong. Through all of this… her fears… her nightmares real and she was the only one of them that seemed to be holding it together. _How?_

Looking into her eyes he questioned himself. He knew there was only one decision to make. Zoom knew this. It was his plan all along. Backed into a corner, he had to give up his speed. Give up a part of himself that made him all he knew he was… the person she fell in love with. _Will he be enough?_

"Do you love me?" he whispered to her, his eyes searching hers.

"You know I do." She replied looking at him a little concerned.

"Without my speed. Would you love me?" Barry's voice trembled as he asked, scared of her answer.

Caitlin leaned closer to him, reaching out for his hand she held them to her.

"Do you remember the day… the day you first lost your powers? We were trapped in S.T.A.R Labs and you asked if I believed in you?"

"Yeah, how could I forget? It was the day you said you loved me." He laughed smiling at one of the best memories he held on to.

"And do you remember what I said?"

Barry nodded, squeezing her fingers gently in his.

"I said… that even without your speed you were still you. That I believed in you… and that I loved you. Barry I didn't fall in love with the Flash. I fell in love with _you_. I love you. It was true for me then and it's still true now. It will be _always_. So whatever you decide I'll be here. I'm not going anywhere… _we're_ not going anywhere." She finished taking his hand and holding it against her stomach.

Barry leaned into her, his eyes closed as he rested his head against hers. For a minute he let himself be in a moment. Opening his eyes, he knew there was one more conversation he needed to have.

"I need to talk to Joe."

* * *

* _Moments later*_

Barry made his way upstairs, each step feeling as though he was being grounded by weights, sinking him into the ground. He hated what he was about to lose but he knew that if he didn't do it, what he and his family would lose would not only kill him but Joe too.

Finding the open door to the attic, Barry stood in the door way, the light shining behind him, casting a giant shadow across the room. Knocking softly, Joe glanced over his shoulder before turning away from him, his eyes falling to his knotted hands.

"Barry I know you can't give up your speed to that monster but… I also know I want to get my son back and I don't know what to do." Joe cried as he stared at the ground, his face in pain.

"I do." Barry whispered, making his way across the room, sitting himself beside his father.

"Wally he's a part of the family…" Barry began, his eyes lingering out the door.

"…He's a part of our family. We do whatever we have to… to keep the ones we love safe." Barry said resolute.

"No. No you can't give up your speed." Joe protested shaking his head, as he jerked around to face his son.

"It's not your decision. It's the only way Joe." Barry said with finality.

"It's the only way." He whispered before slowly prying himself back up and leaving the room.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

"Barry you sure?" she asked her voice shaking.

"I'm sure." Barry answered, his mouth set in flat line.

"We don't even know if he'll be able to hear me." Cisco mumbled as he fiddled with the googles in his hands.

"He will." Barry nodded, motioning Cisco to do it.

There was moment of silence and apprehension as everyone waited, watching Cisco vigorously as he placed the googles on and did his thing. It wasn't long until he vibed the connection.

"I see him. Wally's alive." Cisco reiterated.

"Thank god." Joe sighed a deep breath of relief as he pulled Iris into a tight embrace.

"Do you see Jay?" Caitlin asked.

"I see him. He can sense me. Jay!" Cisco called out.

There was a pause, which she could only assume was Jay talking back.

"He'll do it. Barry will give you he's speed." Cisco voice over.

Caitlin looked over to Barry. He wouldn't look at her. He wouldn't look at anyone in the eye. She could see the resolution in his eyes. His decision did not falter. But she knew he was breaking in the inside and there was nothing she could do to help. Zoom had won.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

They didn't have to wait long until Zoom streaked in with Wally, the blue electricity radiating off his body.

"Babe." Joe called out to Iris, pulling her behind him as he held his weapon point blank at their enemy.

 _Zoom._ Barry thought as he clenched his jaw tight.

"Wally hold on. Let him go." Joe shouted angrily.

"We had a deal." Zoom pointed out, holding Wally by the collar.

"My speed for Wally's life." Barry stated.

"Hand him over and it's yours." Barry said his eyes never breaking contact with Zoom.

There was a brief moment where nothing happened. Both him and Zoom were locked in an intense stare. Barry caught the slight sly smile that disappeared across the corners of his mask, and he let Wally go.

Barry stepped forward as Wally stumbled to the floor before scrambling fast across the room to his father.

"Hey you okay? Get him out of here." Joe ordered towards Cisco.

"FAST!" he reiterated.

From behind him, he heard the rattling of keys and the scuttling of fast feet movement that slowly died down as he presumed they made their way out.

"Flash." Zoom smirked, his head tilting to the side.

Barry's jaw tensed and gave one curt nod.

"Let's get this over with."

Tear back his mask, Barry led the rest of the team into the med bay. Zoom followed close behind them, he took taking off his mask.

Seeing Jay's face behind it, Barry couldn't help still flinch. _This guy was their friend. His mentor…_ And now looking into his eyes all he saw was the betrayal.

"This thing is how I stole the Flash's speed the first time. Now all he needs to do is run and his speed force will transfer into this vile. But as long as I calibrate it." Harry said presenting a little device.

Barry paced the room, taking of his gloves and resting it on the corner of the desk, as Jay shifted, Barry's muscles instinctively reflexed defensively between him and Caitlin.

"Get to work." Zoom leered as he sat comfortably at the edge of one of the tables across the room.

Barry saw as Harry clenched his fist tightly by his side, edging forward towards Zoom.

"Wells." Barry called out stopping him.

Harry inhaled angrily through his teeth before leaning close.

"One day I'm going to wipe that smug expression clear off your face." He promised.

Barry did not once take his eyes off Jay. Over analysing every micro movement, Barry prepared himself for another sting of betrayal.

"So this was your plan all along." Joe spat angrily as Harry worked on recalibrating the device that would rob him of his powers.

"Since the skies parted and showed me another Earth. What's another speedster? Once I saw you… came here, figured out what I had to do." He shrugged.

"How are you still alive? We saw you die?" Caitlin's rang out from behind him.

"You did." He smiled.

"So what was that? Speed mirage?" Cisco said as he walked back into the room.

"Speed mirage? Ha-ha no. Even I'm not that fast. I knew that I couldn't be on two earths at the same time. So I went back in time and ah met another version of myself."

"Your time remnant. Like the Reverse Flash." Cisco factored.

"I also knew that the only way to make Barry faster… was if you all witnessed your old pal Jay… _die_." He laughed.

"When did you decide to do that?"

"When you closed all the breaches and went to Earth 2. Believe me… getting my time remnant to agree to me murdering him… ha-ha took a bit of convincing. But once he saw well… the genius in my plan he was all for it." he smiled to himself.

"Who's the guy in the iron mask?" Barry pressed, his brows pulling together seriously.

"You wouldn't believe it if I told you." He teased.

"Why all the charades why dress up like the Flash?" Joe interrogated.

"To give people hope detective!" he bellowed happily.

"Hope?" Barry quizzed.

"So I could _ripe_ it away from them. It so _FUN_ pretending to be a hero." He laughed manically.

"You are no hero. You are nothing but a monster." Caitlin seethed through gritted teeth.

And in that moment, Barry thought for a fraction of a second that he saw Zoom falter. Barry squinted his eyes together, he couldn't be sure but Caitlin may have reached something in him. And as soon as he saw it flash across his features it was gone.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

Caitlin felt as though her heart was in her throat. She could hear her own beating of her heart in her ears. Facing Jay, she felt the anger rushing to her cheeks, her breathing building against her chest. The hurt… the loss… fear and the betrayal all flooding her senses she couldn't think straight.

As soon as Harry finished calibrating the device he spun around in still seated on the stool holding it up between his fingers.

Caitlin turned to Barry in a rush of panic.

"Barry!" she cried out in a low voice.

Barry reached out his hand, placing it on the side of her cheek. Caitlin leaned into his touch he whispered "It's going to be okay."

His hand sliding away from hers, Caitlin felt the panic rise more eagerly in her chest. Swallowing hard, she did her best to smile, but she knew that it didn't reach her eyes.

"It's alright Joe." Barry reassured his father, as he gave one final glance around the room and stepped out and onto the treadmill.

Caitlin wrapped her arms around herself, holding onto her arm tightly. As Barry began to run, she couldn't help but hold her breath.

With each stride he took, she watched as he began to slow.

"He's slowing down." Cisco pointed out as he read over Barry's vitals.

"The speed force is leaving his body." Harry added.

Caitlin's hands automatically drifted to cover her mouth.

"He's becoming human again." Cisco implied.

From the opposite side of the glass, Barry began to slow… his breathing shallow and ragged, he tumbled forward falling off the treadmill.

Immediately Caitlin and the team burst into the other room.

Iris was first through the door and the first one to reach him.

"Barry you okay?" she asked, helping him up.

"I'm okay. I'm okay." He coughed as he tried to catch his breath.

Caitlin froze in relief. Standing behind them, she dropped her hands to her knees finally letting out the breath she seemed to be holding. _He was okay._ Closing her eyes, Caitlin tried to calm herself down, and regain her balance.

Opening her eyes, she immediately squinted them back shut as a bright flash of blue lightning streaked across her face, her hair swept to the side as Zoom speed by her. Caitlin opened her eyes witnessing as Zoom tore across the room, pinning Barry by the throat against the side of the wall in a thunderous thud.

"Thank you Flash." He emphasised evilly.

"JAY STOP!" Caitlin cried loudly.

"Please." She pleaded, her hand holding out to him to stop as tears beginning to streak down her eyes.

Zoom looked at her, his grip tightening against Barry's throat.

Wincing, Caitlin's free hand reached over her stomach. _Something wasn't right._ She saw as Barry looked at her, his eyes widening as his eyes followed her to where her hand rested. Caitlin looked away from him and back to Zoom. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Caitlin willed herself to step forward, buckling slightly as a sharp pain stabbed her in the abdomen. _Ouch!_ She cried silently.

"Caitlin!" Cisco's voice pleaded with her.

Ignoring him, she begged Jay to look at her.

"If anything you ever said to me was true… " she paused.

"Cait!" Iris cried.

"I'm okay." She replied hastily, her eyes scrunching close briefly as she buckled slightly under the pain.

"If anything you ever said to me was true… or anything we ever shared was real then please just let him go. Please." She begged desperately, her eyes darting from Barry to Zoom.

"CAIT!" Cisco's voice bellowed more urgently.

"I know some piece of you did care for me. So if you have any humanity left please let him go."

Caitlin saw as Zoom twitched, his eyes removing themselves from her to towards Barry. She held her breath.

"Cait… there's blood spreading down your thighs." Iris cried her voice shaky.

"It's because I'm having a miscarriage." Caitlin said, her eyes still locked on Jay.

From the corner of her eye, she could see the look in Barry's eyes as he saw the blood. Caitlin couldn't let herself break not yet… she needed to make sure Barry was okay.

"I just need you to let him go. Please." She broke as she collapsed to her knee.

Jay's head snapped immediately to her. Caitlin closed her eyes, the tears spilling down her cheeks she bawled her fingers into a fist as she fought the pain away. Before she could open her eyes she felt the wind across her face and the distant cries of her name and then everything went dark.

"CAITLIN!"

 ** _TO BE CONTINUED..._**


	18. Getting Back

**_Sorry that I've been MIA for a bit. Had this story done for a couple of weeks now but been in the middle of moving so hadn't been connected to the internet til now... but here it is. Hope you enjoy. Last few chapters are on its way._**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own the Flash nor its characters_**

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

Barry screamed for her. Trying to scramble to his feet, Barry edged for the door, his legs weak he fumbled, falling hard pain shooting through his body. He didn't care. Wincing, Barry pushed himself up. He couldn't hear anyone around him besides the pounding of his heart against his chest. But he knew they were saying something. He ignored them. Everything reduced to white noise. All he cared about was getting her back. _NOOOO!_ He screamed. Struggling forward, Barry realised he was being held back by Joe and Cisco. Their hands were firmly on him. Barry tried grappling out of their hold, their voices calling him back. They didn't understand. He needed to get her back. He was too weak… he was too slow. _WHY WOULDN'T THE LET HIM GO!_ Fighting against them, Barry fell back down to his knees exhausted, he tried fighting for breath, but everything in his body burned. _This couldn't be happening…._ Closing eyes Barry felt the sting of tears pooling behind them. His head dipping low, Barry's whole body fell limp in Joe's arms. _This couldn't be happening!_ He shook his head in disbelief.

"Caitlin…" he called out for her, his voice low and broken.

* * *

Darkness fell all around him but he did not move. He lay motionless, staring at the ceiling willing himself to wake up from this nightmare. But his eyes never seemed to open. Turning his head against the pillow, Barry stared at the empty space beside him. The cold void filling his body as he longed for the warmth of her body beside him again. _He needed to get her back._ Closing his eyes in pain, Barry faced back upright. Unable to stay in bed, Barry threw his legs over the edge of the bed, staggering out he shuffled through the darkness. His eyes red rimmed and swollen, Barry paced slowly down the hallway, his heart stopping half way through upon a closed door. Coming to an abrupt halt, Barry turned facing the door. He stood there for several minutes… and those several minutes he felt as those time stood still. Bracing himself, Barry reached out his hand touching the cold brass of the handle. Swallowing hard, Barry took a deep breath pushing the door open. A slight breeze swept over him. Barry shivered but stood motionless, daring not to enter. The room stood in stillness. Nothing moving against the dark. Barry reached around the door frame, his hands searching the wall until he found the switch. As he turned the light on, his eyes squinted together at the sudden brightness. As his eyes adjusted, Barry shuddered in pain. His heart aching as he took in the sight of the room. Barry's eyes stung with tears. Streaks falling down his cheeks, Barry didn't move. He didn't flinch. He felt numb. As much as he hurt, he couldn't seem to look away.

Stepping back, Barry staggered into the side of the wall. His eyes still glued to the room. His body heaving to the floor, Barry curled further into himself, bringing his knees to his chin. _I'm sorry._ He repeated over and over again. _It's my fault._ He apologized although no sound came out of his mouth. _I'm sorry._

Closing his eyes hard, Barry bent his head into his knees. Yet, the vivid image of his child's room remained etched across mind, taunting him with regret and sorrow.

As another regular day dawned in Central City, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. People would wake up, roll out of bed and suit up for the day. They would go to work as fast as they can, make sure they get a caffeine fix along the way to get them through the mountain of work waiting for them.

But as that regular day dawn in Central City, everything was different for Barry. His whole world had changed in a matter of seconds.

His whole world had shattered.

As everyone came by to check on him, Barry pushed them away. He needed to think. He needed to get her back, and the sight of his friends and family felt like a constant reminder just how much he had lost.

He needed to clear his mind, but found it difficult as the constant pain kept clouding his mind and threw him into a state of numbness.

It wasn't until, Iris found him curled into himself staring blankly into child's room that something in him finally woke up.

He wasn't sure what she said or if she said anything at all and if she just sat there with him, but he knew he had to stop letting the pain of losing his speed, losing her keep him from getting her back.

"I'm going to get her back!" he said out loud.

 _I'm coming for you._

* * *

* _S.T.A.R Labs*_

Barry was pacing up and down anxiously. His fist over his mouth as he thought hard about what they were going to do next… how they were going to get her back. But first he needed to know she was still okay. He needed her to be okay. _Please._ He prayed silently to himself.

"I really wish we didn't need to keep Jay's helmet around I really hate this thing. I just want to put a dint in it." Cisco mumbled through gritted teeth as he threw the helmet discerningly back onto of the desk.

Barry froze looking at his friend intently. _Did he see her?_

"Cisco did you see Caitlin in your vibe?" Iris pressed taking the words right out of his mouth.

Barry bit down on his bottom lip as he watched his friend intently. Cisco took a deep breath before responding.

"Zoom's got her in he's lair. She scared. But she's okay."

Barry felt the muscles in his shoulders relax.

"Thank god." He sighed, his hands falling to his side.

"We need to get her back!" he stated desperately.

"I know but without your speed… there's no way any of us could get through that breach Cisco found at the hospital. I just don't think that there's anything we can do right now." Joe said softly towards Barry.

Barry spun around, looking at his adopted father with an astonished expression. _How can he think that there was no way that he was going to sit idly by while his wife was in the hands of their enemy?_

A spark of anger began to brew somewhere deep in him. He couldn't fathom how after everything Barry sacrificed to get Wally back; Joe could think that he could sit by and wait for a worse fate for Caitlin.

Before Barry could react, Harry walked in grimly.

"That's right. And that's thanks to you Allen." He accused.

"Enough! We're all suffering here." Joe yelled towards Harry.

"That's right. That's right detective. We're all suffering here. We lost Snow… you lost your speed and now… and now Zoom can come through that breach any. _Time. He. Wants."_ Harry paused.

 _"_ And that Allen. Is all on you!" he pointed at him.

Drawing back into himself, Barry shoved his hands deep into his pockets, his jaw tightening he didn't argue. He knew it was his fault. And he was going to fix it. Somehow, he was going to make it right and bring her home. He promised himself. He promised her.

"Hey that's on all of us. We made these decisions as a team." Iris defended.

"No we didn't." Harry said flatly walking squarely up to Iris, staring her down for a moment before brushing past her.

"Where you going?" Barry mumbled finally finding his voice.

"I'm going to find Jesse. Before Zoom does _. Again."_ Harry emphasised, as he rounded the room collecting his things.

"Wait you found her? How?" Cisco questioned curiously.

"Dead zones moron. People from my earth vibrate at a different frequency than people from your earth. They leave cellular dead zones wherever they go." He explained grimly.

"That's why I'm always dropping calls around you?"

"Okay so… so wait how'd that help?" Iris interrogated.

"I track the dead zones created by Jesse since she got here and I followed the trail. It's easy."

"What so you think you're going to need that gun in order to convince her to leave with you?" Iris responded disapprovingly.

"You're full of questions today. Aren't you _West_? The gun is not for my daughter… she's not the only person from our earth hiding out on this earth. If I run into them… I'm going to need this." He indicated towards the weapon strapped across his body.

"Okay but you're also going to need some help." Barry proposed, straightening himself up.

"Know anyone with the speed to help me Ramon?" Harry insulted as he walked straight out ignoring Barry as he left.

Barry sighed, closing his eyes. This was all his fault.

"Okay well I'm going to be in work station." Cisco said rolling his eyes following Harry's dramatic exit.

"Wow." Iris expressed.

"Don't listen to him Barry this wasn't your fault…" Joe smiled trying to console him.

"Do you need a lift back to the station?" he asked placing a firm hand on his shoulder.

Barry shook his head as he shuddered off his father's hand moving away towards the med bay.

"Nah I'm going to stick around actually finished all my cases this morning." Barry lied as he shifted uneasily between his feet.

"Damn that was fast." Joe retorted.

Barry flinched at his words, looking away from his father as Iris shook her head at their father.

Realizing his mistake instantly, Joe fumbled to say "That was a poor choice of words."

"Hey you do know it's okay to ease back into the way you used to do things right?" he advised lightly.

Barry couldn't help but laugh sternly. _The last thing on his mind was going back to the way he was… the way things used to be._ If Wally was still in Zoom's lair he'd doubt Joe would sit back and carry on with his life.

"Well if I can't stop Zoom as the Flash then I guess being here is the only way I can. Caitlin's still out there. Here is where I have to be. That's what I got to do." He responded firmly, before turning his back and leaving the frustration growing.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

* _Zoom's lair*_

When Caitlin finally woke, for a moment she couldn't remember what had happened. Then as she opened her eyes fully taking in her surroundings, her heart began pounding and she struggled to breathe as the flashes of pain and anguish hit her like a freight train. Moving, Caitlin's arms were pulled back. Looking across her body towards her arms, she felt the cold rustic shackles that kept her bound securely to the bed. The chains weren't the first things she noticed before the memories of what she had lost consumed her. She looked down, realizing she was in a change of clothes. Frightened, Caitlin's head scoured around her. _He wasn't there._ Relaxing slightly, she let her head fall back down onto the pillow.

Her eyes still shut, the last memory replayed over and over… the images as if in slow motion projecting onto the back of her eyes. The screams of her name was the last thing she could remember before all that remained was silence. She didn't know how long she was out, but it had seemed wherever she was, it could have only been a couple of hours into the breaking of a new day she knew this as the sun broke through the slight crack in the window above her, yet she turned away hiding herself away from the light, reluctant from moving as the ache in her chest consumed her. She curled further into herself, bringing her knees to her chin as she clutched her stomach tightly, as if willing to miraculously reverse what had happened. Yet, with her eyes shut tightly… nothing happened. But yet she still hoped. Even as she reminded herself that everything was going to be okay… that he was coming for her… none of it seemed to do her much good thinking of home. It hurt her. All that she could think about was just how much it hurt. How much she had lost. How much she wished Barry was with her now. She was angry. She was exhausted. She just wanted to be home.

Feeling more of the cold absence she cried even harder than she knew, clutching even tighter to her stomach she thought of the child she lost. The child she'd never get see to grow… to see fall in love… to see happy. Wrapping her arms tightly around herself, she shook uncontrollably, crying as her heart ached in the emptiness she now found herself in.

Still wrapped around herself, Caitlin woke again, her eyes heavy and swollen. Sniffling, Caitlin coughed after taking a deep breath of the still air around her. Clearing her throat, she found the strength to pull herself upright, wincing at the slight pain through her abdomen. She didn't realize how weak she felt. Staring at the foot of the bed, she noticed a tray of food lying prepared before her. _He was here!_ Her body tensed scared.

"You need to eat." His haunted voice seethed as he flashed beside her.

Caitlin ignored him, her anger brewing overpowering her fright.

"Caitlin." He repeated.

Shuddering at the sound of his voice, she forced herself to look up at him. His dark blackened eyes staring into her.

"If you want to speak to me then take off that mask!" she spat.

There was a pause where neither of them moved before he flew away and appeared before her as the man she knew him as. _Jay._

"Does this make you feel better?" he smiled presenting himself well dressed; his eyes warm as he looked at her longingly.

"Nothing you can ever do can make me feel better." Caitlin retorted looking away, feeling uneasy under his intense gaze.

"You don't need to be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you. I care too much about you to do that." He whispered, walking around in front of her so she was forced to see him.

"You only care about yourself… _Hunter._ " She spat back.

Caitlin saw as Jay twisted his neck, his facade slightly faltering before snapping back to his coy self.

"I know you think I'm a monster… I understand why… hmpf but that will change. You'll see we're meant to be together. Don't tell me you haven't felt the same way… I can give you what you want… what he could never give you…" He smiled, kneeling before her his eyes falling over her stomach.

Caitlin flinched, her hand reaching protectively towards her belly, clutching the fabric. Only realizing she no longer bore a child. Jay reached out to console her, seeing the pain in her eyes. For a moment, she was willing to fall into his hands, needing that human contact but she buckled away from his touch and he pulled away disappointed.

"Please Cait."

"Do not call me that." She shouted.

Jay drew a sharp breath before straightening himself back up so he towered over her.

"Why are you keeping me here? You're cured you don't need me for anything!"

"You're here because I love you." He explained.

"It may take a while but someday you'll start feeling that way about me too." He smiled widely at her.

Caitlin stared up at him open mouthed. _He loved her? He's delusional! Yet, that fact shouldn't surprise her._

"Make yourself at home. You're going to be here a while okay." He said softly, reaching towards her and releasing her from the shackles.

Caitlin watched her chains fell away. She looked back up at Jay. He looked at her… that smile that made her shiver still plastered across his face. He nodded towards the food.

"Eat." He ordered before flashing away leaving her free to move.

She waited for a moment before moving, frightened that he'd make a quick return. When he didn't come back, Caitlin rushed to her feet, feeling slight disoriented. It only lasted a moment and she regained her balance. Feeling heavy, Caitlin pulled one arm across her body to help support herself up, feeling weak and sore. She couldn't be sure, but as she stared down at her change of clothes and the way she felt, Jay must have brought her to the doctors. They must have… she couldn't bear to think of the rest for sure knew what they did.

Taking a deep breath, Caitlin straightened herself up, fumbling her way through the mess before she heard a distant knocking.

Her ears leading the way, she followed the sound to a man caged behind a clear glass prison. His face was hidden behind a steel mask, his voice non-existent as he knocked in a rhythmic pattern against the glass.

"I don't understand." She mouthed to him confused.

"Well hello there doppelgänger of mine." A familiar voice called for her.

Caitlin froze recognising the voice as her own. Swallowing hard she looked behind her. It was as if she was staring at a bizarre reflection of herself.

"Well what do you know… I can still pull off brunette." the icy voice echoed through the glass.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

 _*Earth one*_

His mind numb with a dull ache in his brain, Barry was no closer in finding a way to get Caitlin back. Leaning back against the desk, his arms crossed over his chest Barry watched as the news broadcasted people in need and he not being able to help.

"Don't watch that." Cisco shouted turning off the monitors.

"Cisco everyone's going to realise sooner or later that I don't have my speed." Barry sigh a little deflated.

"The later the better. The last thing we needed is another criminal in this city that they're invincible am I right?" Cisco shrugged.

 _*Alert*_

"What is that?" Barry questioned, his eyes roaming the room, his ears adjusting to the different sounding alert.

"Case in point." Cisco muffled under his breath as he made his way over to the computers.

"What? What is that? Does it have to do with Caitlin?" Barry pressed a little bit more eagerly.

"It's Harry."

"What about Harry?" Barry asked rolling his eyes unconcerned.

"The camera in the lab van recorded an accident. This is my version of crash assist… it's like those Russian dash cams but you know without the tag helicopters and bad music on the radio." Cisco explained before pulling up the footage onto the screens.

"That does not look like an accident."

"First Caitlin… now Wells." Barry huffed out in defeat. Will they ever get a break from every bad guy in the city? He questioned annoyingly as he tossed his hands in the air exasperated.

"This is where he got taken but there's no traffic cams in that area."

"I'm going to head out there and see what I can find." Barry breathed heavily.

"I'll analyse this footage and see if I can't find out who this is." Cisco nodded, his eyes focused on the screen before him.

"Alright… wait, where was the last place the van stopped?" Barry asked pulling his jacket over his shoulders and smoothing out its collar.

"Woodman and Shore. Fifteen minutes before it headed back to central city why?" Cisco asked raising his eyebrows.

"That's where Jesse must be. She should know somethings happened to her dad." Barry called over his shoulder to Cisco as the thumbed his phone contacts.

His finger hovering over Joe's name before shaking his head he continued through his contacts before calling.

"Iris hey… I need you help with something." He said over the phone as he left.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

"You're Killer Frost." Caitlin presumed, unable to tear her eyes away from her. The uncanny resemblance startling.

"And you're Caitlin Snow… your little friend Cisco wouldn't shut up about you… nor did your lover. They made you out to be some kind of saint or something." She said with a hint of disdain in her voice.

"So tell me why hide the girls? I mean you've seen our body right?" she laughed.

Self-consciously, Caitlin wrapped her arms across her chest.

"If I could get my powers to work through this carbon wall…. First thing I would do is GET HIM TO SHUT THE HELL UP!" She screamed.

"Who is he?" she said looking back, her arms falling back down to her sides.

"Don't know don't care. But if he's here Zoom must need him for something." Killer Frost replied, rolling her eyes.

"So what does Zoom need you for?" she eyed her carefully.

"Now that is an excellent question Caity. Now I've been asking myself the same thing." She replied back sarcastically.

"But doesn't matter now, I'm not going to stick around much longer." She smiled coyly.

"Wait I thought you said that your powers don't work inside this cell?" Caitlin muttered, taking a instinctive step back.

"They don't… you're right… so you're going to help me get out of here."

"Why would I help you?"

"Listen honey…. There is no way you are making it down that cliff all by yourself. So let's make a deal. You help me get out of this box and I'll help you get home I'll help you get back to _your_ Flash. Might even throw in some wardrobe tips for free. So what do you say Caitlin… do we have a deal?"

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

Kneeling down by the side of the deserted road, Barry slid his hands into some gloves as he collected samples from the site Wells was taken from.

"I don't understand there is nothing around here… so what did the van hit?" Iris murmured out load as he scanned the area.

"I don't know… something strong enough to exert equal amount of force back onto the van." Barry explained as he narrowed his eyes, closely examining the dint at the front of the van.

It was a small mould of what he couldn't be certain but had a feeling could only be of a shell of person's body.

"Someone was definitely here though." Barry sighed under his breath.

"You're thinking a metahuman?" Caitlin asked as she turned around to face him.

"Yeah and if it's a meta after Wells…" Barry started, pulling himself up off the ground.

"Then they might be from Earth two… Zoom could have sent him and…" Iris began to conclude excitedly.

"And Caitlin…" Barry huffed out, a spark of hope igniting.

"First we have to get Jesse and find Wells fast. Maybe the meta can lead us back to Zoom and then we can get Caitlin." Barry rushed as he sped off as humanly as possible back towards their car.

* * *

* _Back at S.T.A.R Labs*_

"He never should have left." Jesse sobbed her head hanging low as she fought back the guilt.

"No this isn't your fault." Barry reassured her with a gentle smile.

"I yelled at him. Do you know who took him?" she asked eagerly, her eyes wide and she searched his.

"That's where things get interesting. You know that fingerprint you guys brought in? The one from the van?" Cisco indicated leading the team across the room to one of the computers by the far wall.

"Yeah, yeah" Barry rushed.

"It belongs to this guy." Cisco pointed spinning the screen around so the rest of the team could see.

"Griffin Grey. A senior at Central City high school." Iris read.

"Wait… no I've seen this kid's picture before. He was missing six months ago." Barry shook his head in protest.

 _This couldn't be right. This couldn't be the guy who took Wells. He was too young._

"That's right." Cisco agreed.

"That doesn't make any sense. An eighteen year old didn't kidnap Wells." Barry protested, his arms crossing over his chest definitely.

"That's what I thought at first but feast your eyes on this." Cisco smiled slyly, throwing himself in front to the computer as he ran a facial comparative program and stepping aside to show his results.

"Wow! It's the same guy." Iris' explained her mouth dropping open in surprise.

"Yeah…. The blood sample confirms it." Cisco nodded.

"But how is that even possible?"

"I'm not really sure yet…" he paused, his expression softening as he turned to Barry.

"Without Caitlin here…" he spoke gently almost at a whisper.

"I can't really analyse the cells on a molecular level to see what we're deal with here." He finished looking away from Barry.

Barry's jaw clenched tight, it killed him that she wasn't here with them. That there was nothing he could do to get her back. That's why they need to get Wells. They… _he…_ needed his help if he had any chance of stopping Zoom and getting his wife back.

"You know what… I might actually be able to help." Jesse piped up shooting up from the chair and making her way to them.

"How?" Barry asked.

"Bio-med was actually one of my majors in college." She smiled.

"One of your majors? How many did you have?" Barry eyed her surprised.

"Five." She shrugged.

Barry looked from her to Cisco to Iris, all three of them slightly choking in astonishment.

"What is that not common here?" She asked innocently.

"Girl, no! That's not common anywhere." Iris laughed.

Barry couldn't help but fight the smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

"Okay lets search for that Grey and see what we come up with. Let's see if facial recognition brings him up and I'll go check CCPD's database." Barry informed the team after the brief moment of lightness.

"Cool." Everyone else agreed in unison.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

"Tick tock, tick tock" Killer Frost clicked with her tongue.

"I'm going as fast as I can" Caitlin sighed rolling her eyes.

"Well you better go faster. Zoom will be back at any minute." She reiterated pressingly.

The sound of Zoom's name made Caitlin shutter.

"I could just leave you in there you know." Caitlin retorted as she picked up her pace slightly.

"Awww but you want to go home so badly." She mocked, with a stiff laughter.

Caitlin drew a sharp breath, closing her eyes she straightened herself up and continued back over towards Killer Frost, dragging over some cables in both hands.

"So how did this happen to you?" She asked curiously, trying to distract herself from the minute pain throbbing on side.

"Woke up one day… cold and pale. Thought I was sick. Turns out it was something else entirely." She laughed, her sounding airy as she thought back to some distant memory.

"You got hit but the dark matter from the particle accelerator explosion?" Caitlin prompted.

"Yes. Right after I flunked out of med school. I had to move back in with my mother." She seethed.

As Caitlin worked autonomously, she had stop herself from laughing.

"That couldn't have been fun. If she's anything like mine I mean."

"Why is yours a frigid narcissist too?"

"Cold as ice" Caitlin stated, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah mom was like that ever since Charlie died." Killer Frost continued to divulge.

Caitlin froze at the sound of the name. She couldn't help but shudder at one of the last happy memory she could recall.

In that moment, Caitlin's mind drifted back…

* * *

 _The rain was pelting outside a welcomed change from the unreasonably warm weather they'd experienced over the past few weeks. Through the glass windows, the rain created a grey curtain against the bleakness of the night._

 _Curled up over a mountain of soft toys and blankets, Caitlin kneaded herself closer into Barry as he wrapped his arms tighter around her. She felt the warmth of his body radiate off his skin. Their bodies woven together as they stared up towards the ceiling, Caitlin felt his voice vibrate through his chest as he spoke._

 _"You're not going to let me win are you?" he laughed._

 _"Not a chance." She smiled widely back up at him, as she watched him shake his head in defeat._

 _"Oh we'll we're going to see about that." He teased, pinching her nose in between his fingers, causing her to pull back wrinkling her nose._

 _"So Kingston is out… Samantha has been vetoed… what about Charlie?"_

 _"Hmmm…" she hummed giving it a thought._

 _"It could work for a boy or a girl."_

 _"I love it."_

 _"Charlie."_

 _"Charlie." She repeated._

* * *

Shuddering at the uncanny coincidence that her and Barry's first choice for their baby's name was Charlie; Caitlin cleared her throat regaining a bit of her composure before continuing in the conversation.

"Who's Charlie?" she stammered, her voice cracking slightly.

"My brother." Killer Frost sighed, her voice betraying her slightly.

For a moment, Caitlin saw a flicker of herself in her. The shared agony of mourning someone else. The fight in her eyes to shake back the tears. It scared a little, of how her life could have easily been hers. Shaking the thought from her mind, Caitlin focused on the task before her.

"I never had a brother." Caitlin sighed, keeping her eyes on her hands as she worked carefully with the electric cables.

"No? Then why was mom such a bitch on your earth?"

"Honestly…. I couldn't say" She shrugged with a heavy sigh.

"So how is this… going to get me out of here?" she asked icily, her eyes wondering over the cables.

"The electrical current in the cable _should_ heat up the carbon which in turn should speed up the electrons and the faster they go…" Caitlin paused motioning backwards towards the lever to her right.

"The weaker the molecular structure becomes." She finished impressed.

"Exactly." Caitlin nodded looking and Killer Frost with a confused expression.

"Hmm I studied ever once in a while." She smirked.

"Well when it gets hot enough it should make the carbon as fragile as glass."

"And then… we can _both_ get out of here." Killer Frost smiled widely.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

Barry winced in pain cowered away from Iris' touch as she finished bandaging up his side. That was definitely going to leave a bruise. Pulling down his sweater, Barry drew a deep breath as he shifted himself of the med bed and struggled to make his way back down into the cortex.

"So he's genes have actually mutated. I ran the DNA from the blood sample Barry found and the functional stats I found in his cells is essentially gone. I mean giving him super strength." Jesse reported back to them.

Slightly struggling to breath, Barry leaned forward, over the edge of the desk for support as he began to speak.

"Guys, there's something else. I saw him age. Right in front of me."

"He's suffering from oxidated stress." Jesse pointed out.

Barry looked at her waiting for her to elaborate further.

"It means the protein in his body are being ravaged by oxidants"

"So what does that tell us? That he needs to up his blueberry intake?" Joe retorted sarcastically.

"No it means the more he exerts himself the faster he ages." Jesse laughed.

"So if we can get him to exert too much energy then…" Joe began

"He'll become old and weak." Barry finished.

"And how do you think we can get him to do that?" Joe questioned, looking from Jesse to Cisco then to Barry before continuing.

"I can't watch you be a human punching bag and wait until he turns into Grandpa Simpson." He said resting a hand on Barry's shoulder.

Barry shifted uneasily under his father's touch, ignoring his concerns he shuffled away subtly, bringing his hand across his body to help support himself upright. As everyone around him grew to an eerie silence, Barry hovered over to his suit. His eyes fixated on the yellow lightning bolt.

"I think we can help with that. Jesse I'm going to need some of that quick thinking of yours." Cisco interrupted the silence after a moments thought.

Barry heard the shuffling of feet, as everyone began scattering about, moving on to work on a way to get Harry back. _If it was only as easy to get Caitlin back._ He sighed to himself.

"Iris… I got to get back to the station." He heard Joe clear his throat before leaving.

Barry listened as Joe's footsteps drowned out and he was no longer with them.

"You okay?" Iris whispered cautiously as she stopped next to him, watching his movements carefully.

"No… not really." Barry sighed, his eyes dropping to the floor.

Iris paused, nodding slightly, already having predicted his answer.

"What's up with you and dad?" she pressed.

"Nothing." Barry lied.

"Barry, come on… You're ignoring him." She noted.

Shaking his head, Barry inhaled deeply, opening his mouth trying to find the right words to describe just how he was feeling.

"It just frustrates me how he could think I could stand back and ease back into a normal life knowing Caitlin is still out there… with Zoom. After everything I have done… everything with Wally I thought he out of everyone would know how this feels. The need to get her back."

"Barry…"

"Do you know when I woke up…" Barry interrupted her.

"…before even I knew why I was given these powers… she believed in me. She was the first person who made me believe in myself. That I could actually do this. Be a hero… do some good. This was when I took down one of the Martin brothers. I didn't believe I was strong enough to stop him. But Caitlin's voice… when she spoke to me it was like the world froze. And she and I were the only too people in the world. I didn't even know what I could do yet. But I knew if she believed in me… I could do anything. And I did. And now… I don't know. Without her I'm so lost. I don't know who I am. I don't know who I'm supposed to be. I don't know what to do Iris. I don't know how to get her back."

Iris took a moment, unsure of the words to say. But seeing the pain and longing in his eyes forcing him to look at her.

"You're supposed to be who you've always been Barry. Suit or no suit… this guy" she pokes him gently in the chest over his heart.

"This guy is who she fell in love with. And when we get her back and we will… you'll be the same man she'll need to come home to. Her hero."

Barry nodded in agreement. Essentially she was right. But he had no clue how to be her hero without his speed. But he wasn't going to give up trying. That he knew for sure.

"Thanks Iris." He smiled pulling her into a hug.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

Caitlin looked over her handy work. Taking a moment, second guessing herself if she should really do this? Shaking her head, she'd rather take her chances with Killer Frost than with Zoom.

"Stay away from the wall." She ordered Killer Frost.

Caitlin watched as she obeyed, standing clear.

"Let's give it a whirl." She smirked.

Nodding Caitlin placed both her hands over the cold metal lever, pulling it down hard, she squinted as it sent an electrical current through the cables. Sparks ignited as it made its way through the cables towards the glass. As all the excitement died down, she picked up a sledge hammer across from her in the hopes that the glass is fragile enough to break through. Caitlin waited as Killer frost backed away, Nodding she swung the hammer half over her shoulder before slamming it hard down towards the glass, shattering it to a million pieces.

Dropping the hammer beside her, Caitlin almost collapsed to her feet exhausted. She hadn't realized just how much she had been exerting herself. Finding some strength, she keep straight holding her side for support, the nudging pain in her side continuing to grow increasingly in pain. She knew she shouldn't be moving… not after everything she went through with the baby but she knew she needed to be proactive in getting out and she was okay enough to push through the pain.

"Well it looks like you have a little badass in you after all." Killer Frost applauded as she stepped over the sea of tiny glass fragments towards her freedom.

"Let's just say I'm motivated to get out of here." She shrugged.

Caitlin spun around, startled by the sudden constant ringing of knocks against glass.

"What are going to do about this guy?" Caitlin asked as she moved closer to the guy in the iron mask.

"Oh Caity I don't think he's ever going home. And neither are you." Her voice echoed icily.

"What are you doing? I thought we had a deal?" Caitlin gasped.

"Ugh! Is everyone on your earth this gullible?" she said rolling her eyes, as she drew her hands up with frost forming at her fingertips.

Caitlin's eyes grew wide. She needed to get out of here and _now!_ Turning on her heels, Caitlin began to run, fear and adrenaline, the only thing keeping her upright. Pushing her way through the maze of pipes and darkened archways, Caitlin could hear the echo of Killer Frost's heels right behind her. Just as she grew closer to an opening, Caitlin felt her feel under her give way and she slide forward, scrapping her arm across the dust filled floor.

"Heels aren't the best on ice are they?" Killer Frost laughed as she stalked her way towards Caitlin.

Caitlin coughed as the dust filled her nostrils. Pulling herself off the ground, Caitlin found herself upright squaring off with her earth 2 doppelgänger.

"You know once I saw you I knew why Zoom didn't kill me. Because I look just like you. Now… he won't need me anymore."

Caitlin held her hands up defensively, closing her eyes she waited for what came next. Instead, she felt a weird sensation flow threw her. As she opened her eyes, Zoom was in front of her, Killer Frost in the death grip of his hand as the other held an ice stake through her abdomen.

Gasping, Caitlin covered her mouth.

"No I don't." His voice vibrated low through his mask before dropping her limp body to the ground.

"Try that with him… he dies too."

Caitlin nodded, overwhelmed with a mixture of emotions and exhaustion, she too fell into darkness.

* * *

Waking up startled, Caitlin jolted upright, her wrists restricted as she tried to move. Looking down she noticed she was back in the chains she had first woken up to.

"You okay?" Jay asked genuinely concerned as he knelt beside her, reaching over to brush a strand of hair out of her face.

"Stay away from me!" she shouted pulling away.

"Killer Frost tried to kill you Caitlin. I saved your life… you should thank me!" he smiled.

"I just want to go home." She pleaded with him.

"No. Stay." He's voice replied heavily as he stared at her with a darkness she'd never seen before.

"I want to leave!" she said her voice shaking, as tears began to spill down her cheeks.

"Please take me back to my Earth." She cried.

Jay took a moment to consider her words. Watching him carefully, Caitlin saw as his eyes widened in some profound realization. He looked at her, a wide grin spreading across his face.

"You know I've always my measured my success with the number of victims I had. Now I think I'm going to wider my scope and start counting the number of Earths I conquered instead. You want to go home, let's go. This earths already been brought to its knees." he said beginning to laugh.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

After rescuing Harry, Barry couldn't bear the thought of going to an empty home. Instead, he stayed behind working tirelessly trying to come up with different ways they could potentially bring Caitlin back home.

With numerous cups of coffee through the night, Barry watched as night became day in one seamless shift of colours in the sky.

Topping up his hundredth cup of coffee, Barry shuffled his way back into the cortex, standing idly be himself as he stared at his suit.

"Well you're here early."

Barry almost spilled his coffee on himself. Turning to find Harry untangling himself from his bag as he to shifted towards Barry.

"Yeah I couldn't sleep." Barry confessed.

"Me neither." Harry agreed.

"I know we just took down Grey without my powers but… I have no idea how to get Caitlin back without them." Barry's voice dropped low.

"We can't Allen."

Barry shook his head. That wasn't the answer he wanted to hear. He wanted Harry to have a solution to how to get her back. He was supposed to have the answers he didn't. He was supposed to know!

"What are we going to do?" he said his voice betraying his desperation.

"Yo—Grey… Grey kidnapped me because he thought I was the Harrison Wells from this Earth… but I know he was talking about another guy but I… I just can't help but think. I still haven't paid for what I've done."

"What does that mean?" Barry shook his head confused.

"I thought… when you... we closed the breaches I could forget about everything I've done but I can't. I realised what I can do… you're going to get your speed back Allen you're going to get her back and I'm going to help you."

"How?" Barry questioned invested, his whole body shifting to face Harry.

"By creating another particle accelerator explosion."


	19. Lightning

**_So close to the finish line now guys! Can you feel it? Hope you enjoy these last few chapters. Much love - K_**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own the Flash nor its characters._**

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

Barry had forgotten just how much his body could hurt after exerting so much of himself physically.

"I need a breather." He huffed out as he struggled off the treadmill. Heaving and tired, Barry felt his lungs burning as he fought for air.

"I didn't this hologram thing was work but dayum so far so good!" Iris chirped as she went and hi-fived Cisco enthusiastically.

"Ah-haha well I figured if we could get 2pac to do a concert we could definitely get the Flash running around Central City." Cisco laughed.

Barry lurched over his knees, his hands rested on his upper legs as he tried to regain his breathing back under control. Admittedly, it felt good that he could still help inspire the city with hope even though he was not really out there in the streets but everything they did just didn't feel right. The team wasn't complete. He wasn't complete. And after his talk with Harry last night he was still floating in the forefront of his mind. He didn't know what to do. But he couldn't risk the lives of the city without knowing for sure it would work.

"It's not going to last." The familiar voice grunted as he stepped into the room.

"Harry." Cisco mumbled his name dryly.

Barry retreated back up right, an arm stretched across his torso as he held himself upright for support.

"It's not going to be long until somebody figures it out. Wait you never say anything… you never touch anything and you never go indoors." He stated sarcastically.

"Okay well without Barry's speed this is as good enough idea as any." Iris defended.

"Actually I beg to differ. I think a better idea than playing hood loose and holograms… we need to rebuild the particle accelerator to get Barry's speed back!" he protested aggressively.

Barry's head hurt. He couldn't think straight and all this back and forth arguing wasn't helping him clear his head and think straight.

"Yeah Wells that what you keep on saying…" Barry winced, his muscles aching as he sat down.

"That's right." Harry stated flatly.

"Look what the explosion did to this City!" Barry argued.

"Not to mention last time we tried something like that we blew a hole in the universe and created like fifty portals to your earth." Cisco added loudly.

"Which is exactly how Zoom and his henchmen got here in the first place." Iris chimed in also.

"I told you! I know how to contain the explosion." Harry repeated through gritted teeth.

"Really?" Barry responded back sarcastically.

He wished he could believe that were true. But there was just too much at stake to weigh up. So many lives. And as much as he missed his speed and wanted to get Caitlin back, he knew if she were there with him right now, there was no way she would allow him to risk so many lives selfishly for her and for himself.

"Yes."

Barry laughed even though his ribs ached. "You know how to contain a dark matter explosion that _last_ time just radiated _all_ of Central City? You tried this on your earth remember… didn't go so well."

"And even if you could contain it I thought you said that Barry couldn't tap into the speed force anymore." Iris interjected.

"He wasn't connected the first time when he got his powers. Look _I_ have your Wells' data. The Harrison Wells from this earth I have his science. I know what chemicals needed to be in your body. I know how the lightning needs to bond with the dark matter accelerator explosion. I can recreate the circumstances to _get_ you your speed back. _THIS_ will work. Your subterfuge is not going to last." He explained roughly.

"More importantly… it's not going to save Snow." He dropped his voice looking Barry directly in the eye.

"It's not going to bring _YOUR_ Caitlin back! If you're going to be ready if Zoom returns… _when_ Zoom returns… there is only one way to do it. And that's by getting your speed back."

Barry's chest tightened. On some level he knew he was right. But what was he going to do? Unable to think clearly and needing the one person who could help him see reason was held hostage and out of his reach, Barry knew he needed to get away somehow and gain a new perspective. He needed to talk to someone who knew him just as well. He needed to go see his father.

* * *

* _Somewhere outside Central City*_

The drive out into the middle of nowhere was just the kind of change in scenery Barry needed. Pulling up onto the gravel driveway, Barry placed the car in park, a smile breaking across his face as his father approached seemingly overjoyed to see him.

"Hey dad." Barry greeted as his dad pulled him into a welcoming embrace.

"Hey. You made it." he smiled patting his son on his back.

"Come on let's get inside. Get warm." He beaconed, leading his son into the small wooden cabin by the edge of the woods.

"It sure is a pretty drive up here." Barry complimented.

"It is that." His father agreed opening the door for him ushering him inside.

Barry stepped through the threshold, welcoming the warmth of the roaring fire in the fire place. His father rumbled through the kitchen brewing each of them a fresh cup of coffee. Barry looked around where his father had been for the past year. He could see why his father would retire up here. The place was beautiful and quiet. Smiling, at the thought of a happy life away, Barry made himself comfortable, shrugging off his jacket as he sat down at the table in front of the cabin window.

His father joined him a few seconds after carrying two steaming mugs of coffee.

"I can't help but wonder why a speedster needs a car?" his father laughed as he set down a cup before him before, sitting opposite him at the table.

"Because… I am no longer a speedster." Barry said sadly, distracting himself by taking a sip of the coffee in front of him.

"You lost your powers?" His father responded shocked.

Barry couldn't look his father in the eye. Instead he toyed with the mug as he spoke.

"I gave them up to save Wally. Joe's son." Barry paused.

"Zoom had him so it was either _give him my speed_ or…well I let Wally die." Barry shrugged.

"No. No you couldn't." his father shook his head.

"Now Jay has taken Caitlin and… and dad I don't know how to save her." He said his voice shaking in desperation.

"Jay took Caitlin?" Henry shook his head confused.

"Jay… earth 2 Jay is not Jay… Garrick is not the Flash from Earth two. He is Zoom." He tried to explain but felt he failed miserably.

"Garrick?"

"Yeah why?" Barry asked.

"My mother's maiden name." he whispered surprised.

"Maybe Wells is right. I should try and get my powers back." Barry sighed, turning his attention to the scenery just outside the window.

"How would you do that?"

"By recreating the particle accelerator explosion." Barry blurted out.

"And getting struck by lightning again?" his father raised concerned.

"That doesn't sound like the safest option does it? What does Joe think about all this?"

"No… but what else am I supposed to do. She out there… _with him_. And I'm stuck here and I have no clue how to get her back dad! I have to get her back."

"Okay… okay I get it. So what's Joe think?"

"Hmpf… haven't quite told him yet." He whispered drawing his attention back outside.

"Why not?"

"We haven't been on great terms. I just don't understand him dad. When Wally was taken he would have done anything in the world to get him back and so that's what I did but when it came to saving Caitlin… he told me to hold back that there was nothing we could do because I didn't have my speed. How could he say that when he was in the _exact_ same position…" Barry trailed off feeling the burning frustration brewing in his chest.

"I've watched you grow… ever since you became the Flash. But Joe has watched over you in all the years that I couldn't. Could it be that he's just as concerned about you? Like you said Zoom already had taken one of his sons… would he risk you too? Because who you are… I am so _proud_ of that man. But ask yourself… do your really need powers in order to be that person."

Barry took a moment just looking at his father. Absorbing what he was saying. He never saw if from that perspective. He was so consumed with the need of getting Caitlin back he'd didn't think twice about his own safety or what that meant to his family. The fact that he couldn't understand that perspective or was robbed of that chance Barry blinked away the tears forming behind his eyes. Sniffling, Barry squeezed the bridge of his nose as he fought the wave of pain ebbing its way to the surface.

"Dad…" his voice broke.

"I can't help but feel… It just feels like that every time something good happens in my life it's taken away." Barry froze.

"Just when we were getting somewhere, when I'm the happiest… it gets torn away. First Caitlin with Zoom and then… then our baby…" Barry whispered his voice dropping low at the memory… her tears… her pain… the blood. There was just so much blood.

Blinking back into reality, a tear escaped from the corner of his eye. Barry quick to brush it away with the back of his hand.

"Barry…"

"Dad please I just can't lose anymore! I don't think I can take it.

"Okay well then maybe it's time we do something about that."

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

It felt like it was only moments that she was chained to an iron rusted bed before she was whirled off her feet and brought back home. As they travelled through dimensions, Caitlin closed her eyes feeling slightly sick. In a flash, Caitlin was thrown back down onto her feet. Stumbling forward, she reached out to stabilizing herself, her hand touching cold metal; it took her a moment to realize just where she was.

"Zoom!" a familiar voice bellowed from below her.

Caitlin shook her head, trying to expel the dizziness, only for the scene of numerous cops… Wally and Joe beneath her aiming their weapons towards Zoom.

"Hello old friend." Jay smirked.

"Stay away from him." Joe said angrily as he shoved Wally protectively behind him.

"Do not move!" Singh ordered.

"Or what? You've tried your guns on me once before…" he laughed.

Caitlin saw a fraction of movement… a twitch in Zoom's muscles. Instinctively she shouted making her presence known.

"No! Don't hurt them! Let them go… please." Caitlin cried, gripping onto the side of the balcony tighter as she felt weak and that her legs will give way under her at any moment.

Caitlin's eyes pleaded with Zoom. As he turned away she looked at Joe, his eyes softening when he saw her. Caitlin nodded subtly that she was okay.

"Tell everyone that this city is mine. Anyone who disobeys me will meet there end." Zoom seethed.

Caitlin oversaw as many of the officers' tensed, unsure of what to do or what would happen next. Waiting for Singh's order, Joe's eyes kept skating from Zoom and back to her.

"Okay. Clear out." Singh's voice echoed.

Caitlin sighed in relief as everyone filed out safely before falling to the floor exhausted.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

* _The Cortex*_

Barry froze as he replayed the words over and over again in his mind… _Caitlin's here. She's with Zoom._

"Why would he bring her here?" Iris asked confused.

"To show power. That's exactly what he did on my earth." Harry explained.

"What you talking about?" Cisco pressed for more information.

"First thing he did was murder people… slaughtered a bunch of policemen. Recruited every metahuman he could find and those who disobeyed he killed too."

Shaking out of his thoughts, Barry straightened up and turned to Joe.

"Where's Caitlin?" he breathed out desperately.

"Still inside the precinct I think." Joe replied.

"And the police?"

"Outside CCPD." Joe added.

"He'll kill them Joe. He'll kill them all." Harry emphasised with urgency.

"Not with Caitlin with him. She talked him out of killing everyone when he took over CCPD." Joe protested lightly.

"That's what we're going to rely on? Snow talking him out of it? Joe you need to get those guys out of there!" Harry shouted.

"What if they set up at Jitters?" Barry proposed, as he crossed his arms over his chest deep in thought.

"That's a good idea. It's just a block away from the station." Joe agreed.

"And then what happens next? You saw what he did on my earth! He will do the exact same thing here. Barry… we need to get your powers back!"

"There must be another way." Henry suggested.

"There's not. There's not." Harry repeated.

"I'll give the word to Singh. Tell him so set up a task force at Jitters."

"And then what?" Harry retorted.

"I dunno but I'm going make sure Wally and Jesse are safe."

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

* _CCPD*_

When Caitlin came to, Jay was hovering over her, a smile curling around the corner of his lips as he brushed a strand of hair from the front of his face.

"You know they're going to figure out a way to stop you right?" Caitlin croaked as she pushed herself upright and away from Jay's touch.

Jay sighed, straightening himself up, he towered over her. His body looming as he peered demining over her.

"Who your husband… _Barry?_ " he laughed loudly.

"Wells? The police? No. Nobody can stop me now. Not anymore." He smiled widely, his eyes widening with pure darkness.

"So what's your plan? You're just going to kill everyone?" she spat, wincing when the cuffs dug into her wrist as she shifted her weight trying to find a comfortable position on the hardened floor she was sitting on.

"Not everyone." He whispered leaning back down so he was eye level with her.

Caitlin stared into his darkened brown eyes.

"Then why are you keeping me here?" she shrugged pulling against the restraints.

"Because I don't want to be alone anymore." He said uncomfortably, uneasy about the new feeling of his need for her.

"I'm never going to be with you!" She objected strongly.

Jay shook his head delusional. Unable to accept what she was really saying.

"You say that you're not like me. But I've seen the darkness inside you Caitlin. Just like Killer Frost. All you have to do…" he whispered leaning in.

Caitlin tried pulling away; struggling against her restraints she couldn't back away further and was cornered as Jay closed the distance between them.

His face just hover inches in front of hers, his eyes locked on hers. He was so close she could feel his breath on her skin.

"… is unlock it." he continued, his lip brushing lightly against hers.

Caitlin flinched, turning her head away repulsed.

She still felt the warmth of his breathing as he lingered staring at her. She only opened her eyes when her hair was swept up by the sudden breeze and she knew he was gone.

Caitlin let out a sigh of relief. Desperate for an escape, Caitlin pulled once again on the handcuffs but to no avail was still confined. Slouching against the desk, Caitlin looked around her, seeking out for anything in reach that could help out of the handcuffs.

With nothing in arms reach, Caitlin huffed out in frustration, her eyes settling to a couple of boxes hidden underneath the desk beside her. Extending out her body, she manoeuvred herself using her legs successful to gather up the boxes and drag them towards her. _There has to be something here!_ She prayed as she dug through the boxes.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

Barry coasted through the empty halls of S.T.A.R Labs, trying to gather up his thoughts and figure out what he should do. Caitlin was now in a worlds reach… there was a better chance for him to get her back. All he need was a plan. A plan that would work… a plan that would save her and stop Zoom. If not he knew he would never stop coming after her… and without his speed there was no way of protecting her if he didn't have it. Flustered and frustrated, Barry combed his fingers through his hair agitated by the outstanding decision he still had to make. He thought that getting away, talking to his father would help him see a bit clearly and if he was honest it had. Having him with him here back in the city, he hoped that he'd also help him make this decision easier but he was wrong. It proved so much harder.

Barry stopped, leaning his head against the wall; he punched his fist against the wall. Pushing off, he was going to continue back to the cortex when he heard the distant echoes of people arguing just around the corner.

Barry followed the voices, the volume increasing and each person shouting becoming more distinct. As Barry approached, stopping to hover, and not entering as he tried listening in. They were arguing on what Barry should do. Each one of them having valid reasons… for him to one thing or another. Barry creeped in silently, watching over his mentor… his father and his hero… trying to make this decision for him.

"Guys." Joe silenced them, as he caught Barry watching them intently.

The voices that once bellowed loudly only moments ago muted into a silence as they turned, facing him… their expressions a little shaken and ashamed they had been caught talking about him.

Barry stepped forward looking each one of them in the eye.

"I know that you care about me." He paused.

"Each of you in your own way… You all have your own point of view on this but this decision is mine." He ended flatly.

"I have to make it on my own." He finished before turning back out the room and walking back the way he came.

* * *

* _Hours later*_

After Cisco's urgent 911, Barry raced back over to S.T.A.R Labs as fast as humanly possible. Because that was what he was now… human. Just as he entered the cortex, he caught the end of Cisco's explanation.

"He calls himself Rupture. Another one under Zoom's control from my earth." Harry explained from the other side of the room.

Barry, watched over his friend as he began pacing up and down the room frantically.

"Great! So he's bringing more of his friends over." He yelled sarcastically throwing his hands in the air for a split second before the fell limp against his body as he sighed.

"Which is what I told you he would do." Harry grunted.

"Okay well Zoom must have lied to fake Dante and told him I was the one who killed Reverb because dude wants me dead! We got to do something." Cisco pleaded his voice softening as he looked desperately from Harry to Barry.

Barry's jaw tightened. Knowing that there was nothing he could really do to help but offer support in any and every way he could now. Grinding his teeth, he took a deep breath and turned to face Harry for answers.

"What else do you know about him?"

"He gets his power from that syth he yields" Harry pointed out to the frozen video footage on the screen before them.

"Thing's legit too. Almost took half the van with him." Cisco remembered.

"Okay that's what we need to do. Figure out a way to get it away from him." Barry concluded easily.

"Right. Okay. Alright I'm sure I can come up with something I just need to figure out a way not to tell Dante why this psychopath looks exactly like him." He said his voice raising an octave, before he took a sharp breath to calm himself down and find his brother.

Barry gave Cisco a small reassuring smile just before he left. With his arms crossed over his chest, Barry looked to the floor, his mind racing with so many he thoughts he couldn't even think clearly on one.

He hadn't noticed that Harry had approached him, and was standing right in front of him leaning in close, his eyes locking onto him.

"You know what you need to do." Harry said flatly.

"I need a minute." Barry said backing away, his heart racing rapidly as he felt cornered.

* * *

* _Basement Level*_

Escaping the leering eyes back in the cortex, Barry found himself in the basement overlooking the machine Harry had been secretly building in order to recreate the particle accelerator explosion.

Beside himself, Barry let himself clear his mind of all things… his mind wondering instinctively to the memories of Caitlin.

"Hey." A soft voice echoed in the vast room.

Barry peered over his shoulder, his eyes falling upon Iris who stood awkwardly, gauging whether she was welcome to approach.

"Hey." He responded turning his head back around, staring at the machine.

"This should be an easy decision. But it… it just isn't." Barry sighed, dropping his head.

Iris moved to his side, leaning beside him, she nudged her shoulder with his.

"I mean it's not like picking out what colour sweater you're going to wear." She joked.

Barry managed to crack a small smile, but this wasn't something he could take lightly. The city… Caitlin's life weighed on this decision and he couldn't for the life decide with certainty on what to do.

"But getting hit by another particle accelerator explosion… I mean what if something goes wrong? What if…" she said a little more seriously.

Barry turned to her. Her eyes were staring at him worried.

"I thought bringing my dad here would make it easier… it's just made it a lot harder." He confessed.

"I can understand him not wanting you to do it. He just wants you to be safe." Iris explained.

"What about you?" he probed.

"I mean I don't know if I could go through what I went through the last time you were hurt. Barry you were in a coma for nine months!" she emphasised.

"But the question isn't what I think Barry… it's what you think." She finished.

Barry sighed. This was definitely a decision he was going to make on his own and knowing this… anything that happened as a result he had to live with this decision and those consequences. Barry took a moment, thinking of what trying to get his speed back weighed up to against the challenges of doing it as he was… normal. Staring straight ahead his thoughts focused on one thing and one thing alone.

"All I know is… I _can_ live without ever getting my powers back… but I just can't do it without Caitlin. And getting her back is all I need. I just know if she were here… she wouldn't let me go through it. Not with the risk of the city going through what it already has again."

"Then you know what you have to do. The choice is simple." Iris supported.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

* _CCPD*_

Caitlin fumbled single handed-ly with the evidence in the boxes, searching through all the useless crap from something could help get her out of here.

"Come on!" she breathed heavily, growing impatient.

She didn't have long until Zoom came back. She needed something fast. She couldn't guess what he'd do if he found her escaping.

As she continued to rifle through the contents of the boxes, her fingers curled around a small hand sized object.

"Yes!" she whispered content as she ripped the bag open with her teeth, shaking out the seized phone into her lap.

Before Caitlin had a chance to send for help, a noise just outside the ball pen doors, caused her to drop the phone. Quickly scrambling it back up into her hand, Caitlin peered over the side of the desk. Zoom had come back but he wasn't alone. Hiding the phone securely in the back of her jeans, Caitlin pulled her attention back to Zoom and one of his masked henchmen.

Leaning in, she had managed to overhear enough of their conversation to shake her. Suddenly the voices dropped low and there was silence. When Caitlin face back around the masked man she overheard as Rupture had vanished and Jay had torn off his mask, steadily making his way to her.

"You disapprove?" he queried, crouching down so they were level.

"You said you would spare them?" she cried, the pang of betrayal traced in her voice.

"I need to teach them a lesson." He smiled.

"Is that why you change your voice so everyone's afraid of you?" she replied narrowing her eyes at him.

Jay twitched, his eyes voiding of anything familiar as he stared at something in the distance. Suddenly he closed his eyes. For a brief moment he was quiet. When he opened them back, he drew his eyes squarely to her. His eyes completely consumed in black.

"As you once said… I'm nothing but a monster." His voice changed to the monster he was.

And then he was gone.

Caitlin didn't hesitate for a second, pulling out the phone from her pocket she quickly sent a message to the team in hopes they'd get there in time to warn the police.

 _*Rupture Attack Jitters 2nite.*_

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

* _The Cortex*_

After a couple of more minutes alone down in the basement, Barry moved back towards the cortex just in time to here Cisco mention Caitlin's name. Immediately, Barry raced into the room, his heart racing.

"What about Caitlin?" he breathed out desperately, searching between the faces in the room for an answers.

"She sent us a text message. Rupture is going to attack Jitters tonight. We got to move Barry!" Barry pushed past Joe and Cisco eager to get a glimpse of the message himself.

As he read the over the screen his father pulled him away "What you going to do Slugger?"

Barry felt as if all of the air in the room vanished and he couldn't breathe. Looking at everyone gathered around him, each one looking up to him… looking for a leader to tell them what he wanted to do. Tell them what to do.

Barry took in a sharp breathe, straightened up before he spoke.

"Having the Flash might be the best to stop Zoom and other metas he's sending over but look until we know for sure that the accelerator will work…. It's too risky not just for me." Barry paused, seeing the growing frustration and disappointment on Wells' face.

"But for the entire city… countless others that would be affected if the explosion is not contained!" he said pointedly towards Wells, ensuring that his reason was emphasised.

"Yes but Allen—" he began to object.

"Stop, Wells! Look I've made up my mind. I'm sorry. We're going to have to go ahead and do this without the Flash." He trailed off.

Turning away, Barry took lead as Joe and Cisco followed him to Jitters, Joe on the phone to Singh, neither one of the spoke. As they waited for the elevators, Barry closed his eyes praying that his decision was the right one.

* * *

* _Jitters that night*_

Barry chambered down the stairs of the first floor on the popular café restaurant. Dodging a couple of officers, Barry fixed the collar of his jacket just as he walked over to Joe.

"Hey were all set up. Are you sure this is the best plan?" Barry whispered searching his father's eyes that he was doing the best thing.

Joe placed a hand on his shoulder; leaning in… he looked Barry in the eye.

"Look I know you can't help as the Flash but stopping one of Zoom's men is sending a message that we won't be intimidated." He assured.

"Do you think I made the right decision?" Barry pressed.

"I don't know Bar… whether you made the right one or not… it's a decision you're going to have to live with." He advised with a small smile before pulling away and joining the rest of the task force.

"Yeah alright." He whispered under his breathe.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

* _CCPD*_

" _Breaking News just coming out of Jitters Coffee Shop. CCPN has learned that a metahuman has just been apprehended after an altercation with the Flash…"_

 _No. No. No._ She repeated shaking her head. Her heart thumping in her chest as she prayed that everyone was okay.

With her eyes glued to the television, Caitlin stared wide eyed, straining her ears to listen to anymore news the news had about what was happening. She just hoped Barry or Joe weren't there. _Please don't be there._

"You told them Rupture was coming? How? HOW?!" Zoom screamed angrily as he speed into the room tearing off his mask towered over her, his eyes aggressively dark as they bore into hers searching for an answer.

Caitlin stared back at him, without flinching. She saw the sudden change in his expression as his eyes drifted from her to the floor where she stupidly forgot the phone. _Shit!_

Caitlin could feel her heart pounding vigorously. Fear in her eyes, Caitlin looked away.

"Oh you are smart aren't you? You betrayed me!" he retorted, snatching the phone from her and crushing it effortlessly in his hands.

"You told me you would spare them!" she cried out.

"I guess we're even now." He spat, narrowing his eyes at her, he placed on his mask.

"Jay please!" she begged.

"My name is Zoom!"

Pulling at her restraints to stop him, the cuffs dug deeper into her skin causing a trickle of blood to streak down her arm.

Caitlin ignored the pain, turning to face the screen she screamed. "NOOO!"

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

Impatiently waiting, hidden in the back alley. Barry tapped his foot anxiously on the floor of the van, his eyes glued to the monitors as he over the CCPD. Suddenly in a fraction of a second, the scene changed, Zoom stood in the middle of the room, streaks of blue lightning radiating off his body. His movements were slow and precise as he watched… stalked each one of the officers in the room silently.

"Oh no!" Cisco muttered under his breathe.

"They got to get out of there!" Barry shouted, not needing to wait a minute further, he pushed through the back of the van, his feet slamming down on the hard concrete, Barry sped as humanly possible back into Jitters.

"EVERYBODY MOVE!" he heard Singh yell.

Just as Barry entered the room, he skidded to a stop, his eyes locking onto Zoom from across the room. In a split second there was an eerie silence that befell the café. No one moved. No one made a sound and in a blink of an eye Barry saw as each of the officers fell simultaneously to the floor. _Dead._

Barry couldn't believe what just happened. Frozen where he stood, Barry's eyes glance from each body that lay motionless on the floor. _This was because of him._ His jaw setting into a tight line, Barry looked back up at Zoom, anger flooding to him. Stepping forward, Joe pushed in front of him holding him back.

"BARRY DON'T!" he pleaded, holding his by the shoulder.

Barry paused, his eyes never leaving Zoom.

"I told you what would happen if you disobeyed me!" she smirked.

Before another word was said, Zoom flashed over to Singh, grabbing him by the throat he grasped him tightly, holding him inches for the ground as he fought for air. Each breath, Zoom's fingers tightening their grip.

"Jay Stop! STOP! God!" Barry pleaded. "You made your point!"

"Not just yet." Zoom said, dropping Singh to the floor, gasping for air while Zoom moved to Rupture.

"You're an even bigger disappointment than your brother." He shook his head before driving his hand into his chest.

Barry had no time to react. Everything that once could have played out so slowly for him to have had the power to stop, now seemed to be moving so fast for him to even follow.

Zoom was now hunched over the dead camera man, picking up the camera he held the lens towards him.

"Central City the Flash you've been seeing on the streets is a fake. A hologram meant to give you hope. But there is no more hope. There is no more _Flash_. And there is no one let to protect your city…. _From me_." He threatened, tossing the camera to the ground in a thud after he was finished.

"Tell the rest of your force Captain that the rest their policing days are over."

Barry took a step forward, pausing as Zoom flashed right to him. Towering over him, Barry swallowed hard, looking him straight in the eye.

"The only reason you're still alive is because of Caitlin." He whispered.

"My affection for her won't stop me from killing you… or this city!" he's voice vibrated as he sped away.

* * *

* _Back at S.T.A.R Labs*_

Barry remained hidden in the dark corner of the room. Everyone was in an intense discussion on what had just happened and what they were supposed to do next.

 _It was his decision. They're all dead because of me. I have to live with this._

"So what's next?" Cisco shrugged.

When Barry looked up from the floor there was a silence as everyone in the room looked to him.

Barry opened his mouth, lost for words.

"Next he will recruit every metahuman he can find and force them to do what he wants." Harry interjected.

Barry closed his mouth, and leaned back to the wall. Blocking out the voices he tried to concentrate on how he was going to fix this.

"How many could be left? We defeated most of them… didn't we?" Joe pointed out.

"No… you're not even close. This is a list of metahumans from my earth… or the ones known anyways. The particle accelerator was contained on my earth. That didn't happen here."

"Then why wouldn't we know about any other metahumans from here?"

"Because of the Flash." Iris stated.

"And now that everybody knows that he isn't around…"

"They'll start coming out of the woodwork." Joe finished.

"We don't know that." Iris said remaining optimistic.

"What more do you need? I told you he would recruit metahumans… we saw him do that. I told you he would kill those officers… we saw he do that too. What more do you need?!" Harry yelled loudly, the fear in his voice.

Barry shook out the voices in his mind. There was only one way to stop this now. The choice was simple. He knew what he had to do.

"Let's do it! I want to do it." Barry yelled over everyone, silencing them.

Barry looked up at everyone, all their faces in surprise and shock. Everyone except Harry who seemed a hopeful.

"One of the cops Zoom killed had a son. The same age I was when my mom was killed. Now another kid has to grow up without a parent all because the Flash wasn't there to stop that monster. I left this city unprotected by giving up my powers to Zoom. I enabled him to rule this earth. I need my powers back. Let's do it. Let's set up the particle accelerator."

* * *

* _Down in the basement*_

"So how does this work?" Henry asked.

"It's an abbreviated version of the accelerator evil Wells built except Harry is isolating the anti-matter and dark energy to direct it to Barry instead of the entire city." Cisco explained as he made some final tweaks to the machine.

"Good! Last thing we need is more metahumans running around Central City." Joe muttered, looking concerned.

"So Barry just gets in… we turn it on and that's it?" Henry pressed for more detail.

"Yah… no. Not exactly. In addition to creating what happened with the particle accelerator explosion we also have to recreate what happened to Barry." Harry added.

"Getting struck by lightning." Iris stated.

"That's right." Harry nodded, moving over to the switch board.

"So how are you going to do that? It's not even raining outside?"

"Well Ramon you have the wand?"

"The one I made for Mark Martin?"

"No the one you're built for the Harry Potter convention. Yes of course the one you built for Martin."

"How do you know about the Harry Potter convention?" he asked rhetorically.

"Get the wand. Get on the roof." Harry order Cisco.

"Why the roof?" Cisco questioned suspiciously.

"Cause we're going to need a lightning rod and that Ramon… is going to be you!"

* * *

* _Moments later*_

Barry moved through the motions silently. Nodding when in understanding and following direction when needed. Stepping into the machine, Barry locked himself into the accelerator, drawing on deep breaths as he prepared himself.

"Allen you're going to feel these clamps but they're necessary." Harry apologised.

Barry nodded. Smiling he looked towards both of his fathers.

"Barry you good? You don't have to do this you know." Henry asked his son concerned.

"I do dad."

"I'll be fine Joe." He added offering his adoptive father a reassuring smile.

"Barry whatever happens we'll all be waiting here for you." Iris promised, stepping away to the safest distance.

"Son. You don't have to do this if you don't want to." Henry pleaded with him again.

"Being the Flash. It's a part of me. I have to do this. I need to stop Zoom. This city needs protecting and Zoom's here because of me. I have to end it. When I do… I'll get Caitlin back. With or without my speed I'm the best version of myself because of her. Without her I won't be that person anymore. So I have to do this."

"Okay." His dad nodded. Smiling at his son he mouth 'I love you'

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

* _Barry's Lab at CCPD*_

Zoom wasn't gone long before he stalked his way back in, releasing her from the restraints of the desk and speeding her upstairs.

Dropping her to her feet, Caitlin backed as far away as possible from him, her eyes never leaving him scared that if she even blinked he'd hurt her. Stumbling back, Caitlin backed into a stool, unbalancing her so she fell sitting on top of it.

"It's done." He said bluntly, just as he took of his mask.

"What did you do?" she said shakily scared of the answer.

A smile crossed over Jay's lips. Caitlin gripped onto the sides of the stool, her knuckles turning white as she anticipated for the answer.

"What I had to. And if you ever do that again—" he threatened before pausing, something outside catching his attention.

Following his gaze, Caitlin peered over her shoulder. She narrowed her eyes as she searched the distant skies that were weirdly clouded in dark forms of grey and reddish tones. As lightning built fast creating a single bolt of lightning, Caitlin heard Zoom scream before a gust of wind told her he was gone.

* * *

* _Minutes later*_

It was only moments, and the skies returned to a calm overcast wave of grey. Everything was silent.

Zoom re-appeared behind her, a smile that spread from ear to ear. It scared her.

"What happened?" she stuttered her voice so low it was barely audible.

Jay said nothing but erupted in laughter. The sound of his voice bringing an icy chill over her. Panicking, Caitlin's eyes began to pool with tears. Her heart beating so loud, she cleared her throat and asked again.

"What happened?"

"He's dead." He bellowed, his eyes drawing wide with glee.

"Who?!" she whispered.

"The Flash!"

* * *

 _ **Preview of what's to come... TEASER!**_

 _A little girl no older than five came speeding towards him. Barry caught his breath as he recognised the same soft brown eyes._


	20. The Race Home

_**Thanks for bearing with me guys! Here is one of the last chapters to come! We're almost done! Can you feel the sadness? Hope you enjoy!**_

 _ **MASSIVE SHOUT OUT TO MY BETA**_ theeuniverse _ **Thanks for helping me get my writing up to scratch! Much love.**_

 _ **Hope this chapter hits all the feels and gets you ready for the last two chapters to come. Enjoy! Much love - K**_

 _ **Disclaimer - I do not own the Flash nor its characters.**_

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

 _No. No. No._ It was as if the world before her crumbled. The only mantra ringing in her head as she vehemently denied the situation.

"No! You're lying! He's not dead. He's NOT!" she stammered, her voice breaking. Her knuckles were as white as her namesake and arms shook with barely suppressed emotions. Her resolve broke as she slowly felt the words sink in to her body. She heard the continuous echoing in her head as Zoom's voice whispered on repeat.

 _He's dead._ The two words cut through her, hard and deep and she couldn't help keep the tears from breaking free.

 _It couldn't be true. She would know if he was dead. She would feel it. No! He couldn't be. He couldn't._

Caitlin felt as the cold enveloped her whole. _He's lying! He's not dead!_ How could two words make her so numb. _He's dead._

"No." She breathed heavy as if she had the wind knocked out of her.

"We can finally be together." Zoom snickered as he sped in front of her.

He reached out to touch her cheek but Caitlin flinched from the contact.

"I will never love you." She held her ground with a trembling voice.

"Oh, in time… you will." He smiled.

Caitlin turned away, her eyes already swollen and red. Closing her eyes, she took deep breaths.

With worlds of emotions she couldn't help but unravel. The denial was so strong; however, she knows that once the anger subsided, she'll bear the unbearable despair of losing another she loved. And Barry wasn't just someone. He was her everything. He was her life… her anchor. _And now he was gone._ She couldn't bear to open her eyes again knowing it was her worst fears had been realized.

It was if all time had stopped around her. All she could think was that _he couldn't be dead._ She repeated those words like a prayer in head. Caitlin couldn't breathe it hurt so much. She felt her knees give out as she sobbed crumpling to the floor. Her heart felt as hollow as her soul. She was empty. Her whole being was breaking and she could feel each piece tore apart. Everything she hoped for… everything she had… it was taken away from her.

She felt numbness envelop her slowly, as if her mind couldn't register the toll of it all. Physically… mentally… the pain seeped into the depths of her bones. She ached. Tears coursed down her cheeks but she just sat there. Broken and empty. Her tears descending down her cheeks she just let them _fall._

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

Barry jolted upright. Staring at a poster on the wall, Barry's eyes wandered around him. _How could this be? How was he in his old bedroom?_ Everything was exactly as he remembered it. The astronaut poster hanging above his bed… the basketball hoop screwed onto the back of his door. _But how could he be here?_ As Barry looked around him as he stopped to pause. His heart pausing for a beat as his eyes set across a familiar book. Picking it up in his hands he felt the familiar texture as his thumb smoothed over the edges of the cover. Stopping… Barry dropped the book back down. This can't be right. _Where was he? Really?_ He tried wracking his brain for any recollections he had before coming here, but he had nothing.

Rushing through the door, Barry made his way downstairs. Everything around him felt so real. From the sound of the creaks of the floorboards beneath his feet to the wood grains of the stair railing all the way down to his sneakers crumpled messily against the end of the stairs. Barry smiled. He was home.

As he stepped deeper into the house, his smile quickly vanished. A chill breeze swept over him, as he saw Joe kneeling over where his mother had been found.

"Joe?"

"Good to see you Barry. But I'm not Joe." He smiled, picking himself up he ducked under the yellow tape and stood before Barry.

"You're not? So, this isn't real?" Barry stammered looking around him, feeling slightly disappointed.

 _Where am I then?_

"How do you feel being back here?"

"I feel awful." He replied honestly.

Unsure of where he was, he just knew that he was needed somewhere else. There was something missing and he needed to go back. Something was pulling him away but for some reason he was stuck here. Wherever _here_ was.

"We thought you'd be more comfortable talking to someone more familiar and be in a place you knew."

"We?" Barry asked his brows furrowing together in confusion.

"Well that's a little hard to explain. Come on sit, sit." He indicated as Not-Joe took a seat by the brown leather recliner next to the window.

Barry hesitantly followed, slouching down so he sat on the end of the coffee table. He was just so confused.

"How much do you know about the speed force?" Not-Joe asked him.

"It's the source of my power. It's what made me become a speedster." Barry replied.

"Yes... and no. When the first subatomic particle sprang forth from the big bang and then came reality as you know it… We were there. When the last proton decays… when it stops vibrating and plunges the earth into a heat death… we'll be there too."

"I'm talking to the Speed Force?" Barry surmised as he looked at Not-Joe with disbelief in his eyes.

He straightened back in shock as he slowly digested the information.

"Isn't that saying I'm having a conversation with gravity or light?"

Not-Joe nodded. Barry gripped onto his knees. This was a lot. _The Speed Force! He was talking to the Speed Force!_

"You need a minute. It's okay if you do. It's a lot to take in." Not-Joe – the Speed Force, Barry reminded himself – said as it noticed Barry's slight pale expression.

"So, you're telling me, I'm talking to the Speed Force – the source of my powers which happens to look like my adoptive dad? That's trippy."

"We pretty much invented trippy here." He laughed.

Barry laughed awkwardly. _How was he here?_ He searched the surroundings around him, feeling the need that he belonged elsewhere, flashes of his memories returned as he thought hard… his father… Joe… Caitlin… Zoom… Barry flinched back towards the speed force.

"Look, I don't know why you brought me here but you need to send me back… My friends are in danger… my wife…" his voice croaked with emotion as he remembered Caitlin's disposition. He shook his head in concentration as he continued, "I need to save them from Zoom." He blurted out, desperation reflected in his voice.

Before he could plead for them to send him back, a dark shadow crossed his vision. Distracted, Barry followed as it disappeared.

"Did you see that?"

Not-Joe stood up, looming over Barry as he sat. Barry didn't move, startled by the sudden overwhelming power the Speed Force presented as Barry sat still looking up to him.

"You're not going back. Not until…"

"Not until what?" Barry asked desperately.

"Until you catch… that." The Speed Force pointed towards the shadow that vibrated fuzzily by the front door.

Barry looked to Not-Joe, who nodded in the direction of the shadow. Taking a deep breath, Barry faced it. Standing on his feet Barry stepped forward but the shadow sped off, moving out of his reach. Determined, Barry followed, his eyes constantly seeking for it to reappear. Suddenly, outside in the middle of the street, Barry locked on to it again and so the race began and he sped after it.

* * *

* _Moments later*_

With beads of sweat dripping down from his forehead, Barry stopped hunched over as he tried to regain his breathing. Straightening himself up, he lifted his hands over his eyes, as he scanned for the shadow.

"Iris!" he exclaimed relieved.

Skipping over to her he stopped in realization.

"Not Iris. It's just you again."

"Sit, Barry, sit. You're always on your feet." She nodded to the empty space beside her.

"Do you remember this place? Back when we were kids?" she prompted calmly, looking out over the lake.

"Yeah and you belted the shit out of me while Joe taught us how to box." Barry huffed out trying to catch his breath.

"We thought you'd find this place and our appearance less upsetting. Yet you seem upset." She said confused.

"My friends... my wife… my city is all in danger. Zoom is on a rampage with the speed he stole from me and YOU'RE KEEPING ME HERE!" he yelled frustrated.

"You were given a rare and precious gift… and you rejected it." She replied turning away.

 _Excuse me?_ Barry stared at her gaping. _Reject? Reject it?! Were they serious?!_

"NO! I DID NOT REJECT IT! I gave up my powers to save someone's life. To be a hero! I nearly killed myself trying to get them back. When you brought me here… wherever here is!" He shouted offended.

"That's not what we meant." She said still as calm as before.

"Okay, if you rather have given these powers to someone else… why did you give them to me?"

"Because _you're_ the Flash, Barry."

Barry shook his head and dropped his head into his hands. This was all too much. He didn't understand any of it. Nor did he want to. He just needed to get out of here. Caitlin needs him. He had no idea how long he'd been stuck here but he knows that his wife was out there in the hands of a psychopath and he needed to leave… _NOW!_

"I don't understand. If I'm the Flash then why are you doing this to me? Why do I have to catch this thing before you let me go back?! Please, I'll do whatever you want if you just let me go back right now to help my friends." Barry pleaded with her, searching her eyes to set him free. He needed to get back.

"Barry!"

Barry spun around. _Cisco?_ His eyes searched around him, across the lake a tornado appeared. Ferocious and raging it stayed at bay… calling out to him.

"What's that?" Barry stammered his eyes glued to the tornado.

"That's your friends. They want you go back." Not-Iris smiled.

Barry's heart leapt. This was his chance. This was his way out. Shooting upright, Barry took a step forward but he paused. He turned back looking at Not-Iris who sat there coolly looking out across the lake to his friends.

"Can I?" he pleaded his voice soft and desperate.

"Of course." She nodded.

Barry's heart soared. He was going home. However, just as Barry took a step to reach out Iris's voice called him back.

"But if you do, you will be returning without your powers."

Barry stopped.

"Take my hand! Take my hand!" Cisco pleaded with him.

"The choice is yours, Barry." He heard Not-Iris reason with him.

Barry turned to the tornado, contemplating on what he should do. His family and friends needed him. He needed to go back but he knew if he did and without his powers, there was no way he could help them. And all of this would be for nothing. Taking a deep breath, his face set with resolve, Barry turned back to Iris who had disappeared. Barry searched for her, but instead he saw the shadow looming over the hill. As fast as he spotted it, it sped off to nowhere as if taunting him.

Barry took one more regretful look at the tornado, knowing his friends and family were waiting for him on the other side; he turned his back and began his race after the shadow.

* * *

* _Cemetery*_

Barry didn't know how long he'd been running for. It was if he'd been running forever. It was thrice as awful as Cisco's torturous exercises during his powerless phase. He was no closer to catching whatever that _thing_ was. Stopping, Barry rested his hands on his knees. Hunched over, Barry closed his eyes, feeling the burning sensation in his lungs as they fought for air.

As he straightened up his hands on his hips, Barry opened his eyes. A tall, broad man stood with his back turned to him. Barry knew, without a doubt, that it was the Speed Force. He didn't even see anyone here in this pseudo-reality, besides the Speed Force.

"Who you trying to be now?" Barry breathed out heavily.

Whoever he was… he didn't say anything. Slowly he turned around to face him. Barry's expression softened as he saw who it was. For a split-second, Barry's heart rose with joy and comfort. Just the image of his father made him feel safe, but it faded quickly, as reason came crashing down on him. It wasn't really him. It wasn't his father.

"I don't have time for this." Barry said through gritted teeth as he moved towards him.

"Yes, you do Barry. You have all the time in the universe. Literally." He joked.

"NO, I DON'T! AND HOW CAN YOU STAND THERE IN JUDGEMENT AND ACCUSE ME OF REJECTING MY GIFT?! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I HAVE DONE SINCE I WAS STRUCK BY LIGHTNING? HOW MANY PEOPLE I HAVE HELPED WITH THE POWER THAT YOU GAVE ME?!" Barry yelled now as he felt frustration reach his boiling point.

His world was in danger, and he was stuck in a twisted reality where he's forced to confront the ghosts of his present. He stood right in front of his not-father. His face just inches from his as he grew frustrated at this situation.

"Did you know what I sacrificed?" Barry whispered in pain as he recalled his past choices and how it was for the greater good; on how it will always be for the greater good.

 _What did they want from him? Why were they doing this to him?_ He just couldn't understand. _Was he meant to learn something from this?_

"Of course, we do. You've saved countless of lives. Now, you are the only thing standing between your world and unspeakable evil… and through all that, you've never been here."

Barry looked at his father weirdly. _What did he mean?_

Seeing the confusion on his face, Henry stepped aside, peering over his shoulder and down behind him.

Barry followed his gaze. His heart stopping. Weak and tired, Barry fell to his knees in front of his mother's grave.

 _Beloved wife and mother. Nora Allen, 1956-2000_

For the first time in a long time, Barry reached out to the words that marked where she lay. His fingers feeling the groves as tears began streaming down his face. Barry quickly brushed them away with the back of his sleeve.

Barry's emotions were all over the place. There were longing… need… desperation… frustration and exhaustion.

"Why did you bring me here?" he croaked, his mouth dry.

"Your mother's death happened to you Barry. It made you who you are, but have you accepted it?" His father said.

"Really accepted losing here?" He paused.

"Maybe that's why you couldn't come here because it would make it real."

"I know it's real. Every day I know." He cried, his chest rising and falling heavily as he felt the weight of all the emotions he had hidden. It was as if the dam had opened and the onslaught of his buried emotions rose to the surface, consuming him.

"I had a chance to save her. You know what I chose." Barry said ashamed, his eyes never leaving his mother's grave.

"And you're at peace with that decision?"

"At peace?" Barry scoffed.

"How could someone ever be at peace with letting his mother die? At deciding that his life was more valuable than hers?" his voice cracked.

"Do you really think that your mother would really want you to die for her? And all the amount of people the Flash saved as a result of that decision… what about them? Do their lives have value too?"

Barry shook his head. This was too much. He couldn't do this. He couldn't be here. Jumping off the ground, Barry pushed past his father angrily.

"I don't have to listen to this. I have to get home."

And then Barry did what he's been doing since his mother died. Barry ran.

* * *

* _Allen Residence*_

The heavy sadness was driving him to escape. Without him noticing, the day turned into dusk as Barry round his way back to a familiar street. The lamp posts that lined the once quiet neighbourhood guided him back home.

Barry stopped in the middle of the street. His breathing causing a stream of pale white clouds against the cold air of the dawning night.

The shadow he'd been chasing, brushed past him. Without hesitation, Barry followed it after striding up the front steps of his childhood home. He opened the door and welcomed the warmth of familiarity and longing.

As he shut the door firm behind him, he heard a loud squeal come hurdling towards him. A little girl – no older than five – made a beeline for him. Barry caught his breath as he recognized the same soft brown eyes. Kneeling before her, Barry opened his arms as the little girl came racing into his embrace. Barry held onto her tight, before she eagerly squirmed her way out of his grip. Her small palms resting on his shoulder, she kept him at her short arm's length away.

"You're home daddy." Her little voice chimed as she snuggled into him.

Barry's face broke into a smile. His mouth dry, Barry was lost for words. Even though he knew it wasn't really her, he knew that this was what his daughter would have looked like. Soft, curly, brown hair with big wide innocent eyes. She was the splitting image her mother.

"Come read to me daddy." She pleaded with him as she raced upstairs.

Barry was frozen; he stayed kneeling as he blinked after his daughter. Wiping his eyes, Barry mustered the strength to follow after her, his heart lurching. As he opened the door to his old bedroom, he expected to find his daughter bouncing upon the bed waiting for him, instead he stopped. His eyes drawing wide as he saw his mother.

"Mom?"

"Hi, Barry."

"You're not my mother." Barry whispered disappointed.

"Why are you doing this to me?" he cried out exhausted, his expression becoming anguished as he stared at her.

He was tired. _What did they want from him? Why where they doing this to him?_ He couldn't understand. He shook his head. He couldn't sit. He wouldn't. _Whatever_ this was. He couldn't take it anymore.

"We're not doing anything to you, sweetheart. You're just so tired. Sit, Barry, sit." She whispered patting down on the bed beside her pleading with him to listen.

Hesitantly, Barry paused. Exhaustion claiming him, Barry stared at her unblinking and unmoving. _He missed her so much._ As he looked at her, a stabbing pain radiated through his chest.

"Sit." She beaconed him, a soft smile that somehow reassured him, Barry moved unquestioningly beside her, his eyes never leaving her.

She looked at him, her eyes open and warm. She felt so real. How he longed to reach out and touch her. For her to hold him one last time and whisper that everything was going to be alright. That's what he needed right now. He needed her.

There was a long silence, neither one of them speaking. Looking into her similar soft green eyes, he knew he wasn't over it.

"You're right, I haven't accepted it. Not for a second. I don't think I ever will." He confessed.

"My beautiful boy... You have to find a way." She said softly taking his hand into hers.

Barry's heart shuddered to a stop before restarting. His mother's touch had instantly reassured him of her love for him. She made him feel he wanted. That he belonged. He felt at peace. He was finally home.

"How?" Barry asked with a heavy sigh.

"I don't know. But I know this: what you've become is wonderful. A miracle even, but it won't make bad things stop happening to you. Even the Flash can't outrun the tragedies that the universe will keep sending. You have to accept that. Then you can truly run free."

"I know I just miss her," Barry whispered, his voice heavy with miserable defeat. "I miss you so much." His voice cracked as his composure finally broke and sobbed his head bowing down.

Barry felt his mother move. Her hand still holding onto his, Barry tightened his grip afraid she'd disappear. Instead, when he opened his eyes, she was kneeling in front of him. A hand reached out to touch his face. Barry leaned into her touch. Closing his eyes, he tried to remember this moment. Even if it wasn't really real.

"What if I told you she's proud of you? And the man that you've become?" she said tenderly.

"Who's telling you that? The Speed Force or my mother?" Barry croaked.

"Both." She whispered.

Overwhelmed with emotion, Barry nodded with a sad smile. Closing his eyes, he held onto his mother as he wept.

"I miss you, mom," he repeated, because he can never have a moment like this.

Barry felt her lips on his forehead as she kissed him. "I love you, my sweet baby boy."

* * *

* _Moments later*_

"Do you remember this book? It was always your favourite?"

Barry nodded.

"Once there was a little dinosaur named Miosaur who lived with his mother. One day he told his mother, 'I wish I was special like the other dinosaurs. If I were a T-Rex, I could chomp anything with my ferocious teeth…"" His mother began reading aloud.

"'But if you were a T-Rex' said his mother… 'then how would you hug me with those tiny little arms?" He recited.

"Hmm," she smiled as she turned back to read the book and listened as he read on.

Before he continued, Barry heard the laughter of a small child echoing through the halls of the house. Peering up he saw his daughter, dance in and gleefully wedged herself between him and his mother. She sat perched up looking over at the book.

Barry smiled. He wrapped his arms securely around his daughter and held her tight before continuing to read from memory. His eyes never strayed from her or his mother.

"'I wish I was a Padasaurus' said the little dinosaur, 'so that with my long neck I can see above the treetops.'

'But if you were a Padasaurus' said his mother how would you hear me in the treetops when I tell you I love you? What makes you so special little Miosaur' said his mother, '…is not your ferocious teeth, long neck or pointy beak. What makes you special… is that out of all the different dinosaurs in the big wide world, you have the other who is just right for you and who will…'"

"Always love you." They said together, just as his mother turned to face him.

"You're ready." His mother whispered.

Barry nodded, feeling a whole new sense of acceptance. Looking down at his daughter who was fast asleep in his arms, he smiled before kissing her gently.

Standing up, Barry closed his eyes, reaching out he sought to grab the shadow that appeared before him. Opening his eyes, he felt something change within him. He was not the same as he was when he had the Speed Force. He felt liberated. It was as if he was a new version of himself. He was whole again, in the complete sense of word.

* * *

* _Earth One*_

Barry sat perched on the edge of the med bay as his father did a thorough medical exam. With no concerning problems, his father had to agree that he was fine. After having tired reassuring him of the fact for the past hour.

"It's been quite a day, huh… Not so much as one damn thing after another but like every damn thing all at once." His father noted as he tidied up his equipment beside him.

"It all worked out in the end." Barry smiled rolling down his shirt.

"No, you worked it out okay in the end." He rectified.

"You know it's funny… I never really understood where you were coming from with all your fate and everything happens from your point of view but now… maybe I was wrong. Everything that has happened to us: good and bad… it's made us who we are and I don't think I'd change it even if I could. If that makes sense?" Barry laughed shaking his head as he looked at his father for understanding.

"It does." His father smiled at him.

"And now since we're on the topic of changing our mind about important things in our lives" he paused clearing his throat.

"You know that part where I said I was going to leave Central City so that you could be the Flash without being concerned about me all the time?" he looked at Barry square in the eye.

Barry nodded at the recollection.

"Well forget all about that. I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me."

A broad smiled spread across Barry's face. Jumping off the edge of the bed, he swung his arms over his father's shoulders, bringing him into a tight embrace.

* * *

*Cementry*

As Barry set a single white rose on his mother's grave, he reached out for her. His fingers finding those groves that spelled out her name. A small smile pulled at the edge of his lips, as he thought at the precious moment the speed force had gifted him with. A final goodbye.

Straightening up, Barry took a deep breath. As he stood over her grave, it surprised him how the pain of losing her didn't quite hurt as bad as it used to. Being here. He felt a sense of peace.

"Joe offered to take me so many times. I always found an excuse to say no. My mom and I read this when I was little. Do you know it?" Barry spoke his eyes never leaving his favourite book.

"Yeah, I never really liked it." Iris laughed shakily as she drew into her coat, fighting for warmth against the dampness around them.

"Why?" Barry quizzed, a little defensively.

"Because it was about a mother who was always there for her child no matter what and that wasn't my mom. Or yours. We never had anyone who was just right for us." She explained.

"Didn't we?" he paused looking at her.

"I'm seeing things a lot differently now. I wasted so much time being angry on what I had lost… when I had so much: my dad, you, Joe, and Caitlin. The truth is, it still hurts." He confessed, his eyes drifting from Iris back to his mother's grave.

He continued "I don't think it will never stop hurting. Never having to watch my own child grow up… missing my mom everyday… I don't know what the future holds for any of us… all I know is that I will get Caitlin back… we will try again... because she's all that matters to me. All of you. And you guys are all I needed to get me back home." He trailed off his voice dropping down to a whisper.

"And every time we'll be waiting." She smiled holding his hand in hers as they both stood in silence over his mother's final resting place.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

* _Barry's Lab – CCPD*_

"Cait, please…"

"I asked you not to call me that."

"Caitlin! We've been through this again and again and we've gotten nowhere. Now, I need to know: are you with me or against me?" Zoom paused as if weighing his options.

"Nah, don't answer that yet. I'm going to go out there and speak to my friends and when I come back you will give me your answer. If you're still here, it means you've chosen to stay with me. But if you're not here… Then you have chosen your pathetic friends. Mark my words when I say I will show you as much mercy as I would show them the next time we see each other again. There, I'm giving you the choice. I need to go."

Broken and alone, Caitlin sat torn. The fight for survival was still strong. She knows that if she gave up, Barry would be waiting on the other side for her. But her friends needed her. If she gave up now she knew she could never live with herself if she didn't help fight. She owed Barry that. She owed her child… her friends and family. She knows that Barry will want her to keep fighting in whatever way she can. So that's what she'll do. She'll fight on.

Hearing Zoom's voice vibrate through the open door, Caitlin knew one thing for certain. She would rather die with those she loved than spend the rest of her life imprisoned by that monster. Without a second hesitation, Caitlin collected herself. She struggled her way silently through the hall, down the darkened corridors to the familiar streets of Central City.


	21. Deja Vu

**_Sorry for the long and awaited chapter. But here it is. Hope you enjoy as usual. Might not be my best writing so apologies._**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own the Flash nor its characters._**

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

The day after he got back from the speed force were the worst the city had seen. Some people were calling it the meta-pocalyspe. The days when Central City was overrun by an army with powers beyond imagination. But in these dark times we must never forget our own strength. Our own power to fight back. That it's only in the blackest of nights that we can truly see the light. And know for sure we're not alone. We are never ever alone. He had his powers back and he was going to be that hope the city once knew. Zoom wasn't going to take that away from them. He wouldn't. Tackling through the streets, Barry flew the chaos evolving around him. Dodging bullets fired by the police and power blasts from metas directed back at the city's protectors.

With a new found energy, Barry powered through the city, tackling each breacher one by one, until the streets drew to a shuddering silence and nothing but the flashes of red and blue lights upon the police cars coloured the now safe streets.

As Barry securely locked away the last meta, and the doors upon their prison closed on them, Barry smiled. He was starting to feel like his old self again. But something deep within him still felt hollow. Something was missing. And he knew exactly just what that missing piece was. Caitlin.

Speeding back up to the upper floors of S.T.A.R Labs, Barry stepped through the opening elevator doors, where Iris greeted him with a giddy smile.

Barry smiled back, fixing the collar of his jacket as he walked by her side towards the cortex.

"We usually take these guys one at a time not a hundred at a time." Barry stated happily.

"Yet you don't seem overwhelmed." She smirked looking at him curiously.

"I know we can do it." Barry shrugged. _And now that the city was safe it was time to get his wife back._

"Guys!" Cisco yelled to him as he came running down the hall barrelling towards them.

Barry's face dropped in concern. His expression tense as he looked at his friend.

"You need to see this." Cisco stammered already stepping backwards.

Barry's brows scrunched together, his jaw tensing as he followed quickly behind.

"Cisco! What are yo-" he said stopping short of finishing his sentence.

Barry couldn't believe it. It's as if everything around him started moving slowly. As if time itself was drawing to a halt. Standing where he stood, everyone's eyes were on him as they moved to the edges of the room.

"Caitlin?!" he whispered as all the breath air left his body.

"She's in shock. A little dehydrated and malnourished but I think she'll be fine." His father explained as he finished examining her before stepping aside.

Barry's heart rose, beating fast as he caught sight of her sitting before him.

 _She was really here!_

Caitlin drew her eyes up to him. Her eyes widened in realization of who called out her name. As soon as their eyes locked, Barry didn't waste a second. He began moving forward, unable to take his eyes off her; Barry ran to her afraid that if he'd as so much as blink she'd disappear.

In that moment everything important melted away and all he could see was her. All that mattered was her. All that mattered was that she was here.

Racing to close the small distance between them, Barry rushed forward meeting Caitlin half way as she threw herself into him.

Barry threw his hands into her hair as he held her to him, his lips crushing into hers in a deep and desperate need. His lips were urgent, his free hand twisting into her hair as he held her face securely to his. Caitlin responded with the same need and desperation, her hands gripping onto his shirt as she pulled him in closer.

It took a moment for either of one of them to pull away. Barry opened his eyes, peering down he noticed her eyes tightly shut as the tears forced their way down her cheeks.

"Hey…" Barry whispered against her lips, freeing his hands from her hair as he brushed away the tears.

"I'm okay." She shook finally looking up at him through her damp lashes. Her eyes red and swollen.

"What happened? How'd you get away?" he murmured, searching her eyes.

"He… he let me go. I didn't think he would. I thought it was a trap… he told me you were _dead!_ " she cried, tears continuously falling down her face.

Barry's face grew in anguish as the pain in her eyes radiated into him.

Barry wrapped his arms around her pulling her into him.

"I'm not. I'm right here. We're all here. Together." He whispered into her hair as he tightened his hold around her.

"Snow. Jay's not here. You're safe." Harry reassured her.

"He's going to overrun this city! You can't stop him!" She screamed in panic as she pulled away looking frightened, her eyes darting between Wells to Barry in a panicked frenzy.

Barry could feel Caitlin shaking. His concern growing. She was genuinely scared and it killed him how much Jay had affected her.

Anger setting in his chest, Barry tilted Caitlin's face towards him. He looked squarely into her eyes. He needed her to know that they were going to stop him. He needed her to know that she could still believe in him to make things okay.

"Yes we can. Look at me. He's not going to succeed. We got this. This is our Earth. Our home."

"You don't know that. You don't know what he's capable of." She choked.

Barry shook his head "I know from being inside the speed force… that the universe is with us. Not Zoom. And if the universe is with us… then how could we possibly lose? Right guys?" he said softly before turning to the rest of the team for support.

"Yeah. Yeah. Right." Jesse stammered.

Caitlin grew quite. Barry could see from the dark circles around her eyes that she was exhausted. Silence fell around them; Barry could feel everyone's eyes watching them carefully.

"You've been through a lot come on. You need to get some rest." He said as he caressed the side of Caitlin's cheek with the back of his hand.

Caitlin leaned into his touch, her eyes closing tired. Barry bent his knees slightly before sweeping Caitlin into his arms. Caitlin wrapped her arms around his neck, nestling into him as he carried into the med bay.

"You were in the speed force?" she breathed heavily into the side of his neck.

"It's hard to explain. When you were gone, we were trying to get my speed back so I could get you back…" he whispered placing her onto the bed.

"But I'll explain later. You need some rest." He smiled, combing his hand through her hair.

Caitlin hummed her eyes closed. Barry chest swelled with joy. She was back. Leaning down Barry kissed her gently on the forehead.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

Caitlin was exhausted. She had never felt this emotionally and physically drained. Every part of her felt broken and tired. Closing her eyes, she could still hear the soft murmurs of her husband soothing her to relax. She was finally home. She was safe.

"But I'll explain later. You need some rest." His voice echoed distantly as the darkness pulled her to the edges of sleep.

Caitlin felt his lips softly on her skin as he kissed her and then he was gone. Panic rose hard and fast in her chest. Her eyes snapping open Caitlin reached out desperately, her fingers curling around his forearm tightly. Her eyes wide and alert, they glistened as she stared at him desperately, the tears in her eyes fighting to break free.

"Hey… hey…" Barry cooed as he turned back to her, his eyes searching hers as concern shot across his face.

Caitlin froze. A suffocating panic crippling her causing her lungs to burn as her breathing became erratic. She had never felt this before. She just sat there paralysed. An inferno of emotions threatening to consume her.

"Don't… leave… me… please." She begged, closing her eyes tightly as she fought the tears streaking down her face uncontrollably.

"I'm not going anywhere." Barry reassured her, his voice low and tense as he pulled her to him holding her as she wept.

Caitlin loosened her grip as Barry jumped on the bed beside her. Sliding aside, Barry eased down, wrapping his arm around her. Caitlin exhaled a deep sigh of relief; hesitantly she closed her eyes, resting her head onto his chest, snuggling closer to him. Caitlin allowed the steady heartbeat of her husband ease her erratic breathing. Her hand resting over the left side of his chest, Caitlin clutched the fabric of his shirt, ensuring he was there and that this wasn't all a dream. After a moment, she allowed the exhaustion to consume her until she drifted off to oblivion.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

Caitlin rested in the nook of his shoulder. Leaning down her placed a soft kiss in her hair. Taking a deep breath he inhaled a deep of her familiar scent. _She was really here._ Barry took a second to hold onto this moment. To hold onto her. Breathing her in, Barry couldn't believe just how much he loved her. How close he was to losing her. Now that she as back in his arms there was no way he was going to lose her again.

"Hey."

Barry flinched at the sudden voice that called out to him. Peering over to the left side of the room, he found Cisco staring worried, his eyes focused on Caitlin.

"She's out like a light huh?" Cisco smiled, entering into the room quietly as he stopped by the foot of the bed.

"Yeah Jay really did a number on her." He whispered, his eyes falling back to Caitlin.

"Ha- it's not like he really used kid gloves on the rest of us." Cisco retorted.

"She'll be okay. She just needs time. And for us to finally bring Zoom down. Which we will." Barry said confidently.

"Yeah… because the universe… is with us. Right?" Cisco muttered sceptical.

Barry shook his head.

"Listen man…" Cisco began nervously before stopping.

Barry looked to his friend who stood staring blankly in front of him.

"Cisco... Cisco… hey you okay? You just vibe?" Barry asked concerned.

"Yeah." He stammered, blinking back into reality.

"What did you see?"

"A bird. Like a dead bird." He whispered unsure of himself.

Barry's brows creased together confused. Opening his mouth, Barry was silence by the sudden blaring noise in the cortex.

Barry looked down at his wife, trying to untangle himself quickly and carefully as to try no to wake her. Barry paused, as he felt a small tug back. His heart falling to a shuddering stop as his eyes fell to Caitlin's hand clutching tightly to his chest. Her knuckles white as she held onto him tightly, his face grew a pained expression. Closing his eyes, Barry rested his hand over hers, before slowly prying her fingers softly allowing him to move freely. Barry rested her hand gently back down beside her, kissing her softly on the side of the head he rushed out after Cisco.

"Mercury Labs" Barry read as he looked at the red flashing light.

"It's under attack." Cisco stated.

Hesitantly, Barry looked back over his shoulder into the room where his wife slept. The decision to leave her again kept him torn.

Seeing the conflict in his eyes, Cisco reassured him that he wouldn't leave her side.

Taking a deep breathe, Barry nodded in agreement. "Okay." He sighed.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

In a light state of slumber, Caitlin stretched out her arm, her hands gliding across the bed where she lay to find it void and empty. Immediately her eyes flew open with freight. Caitlin wasn't sure what time it was or how long she'd been asleep but it was dark and she found herself alone. Panic bubbling from deep within her, Caitlin jolted upright, her eyes searching the darkness. Unsure of where she was. The sudden murmur of sounds coming from outside the room, Caitlin relaxed slightly when she heard the low mutterings of a familiar voice.

Composing herself, Caitlin shakily threw her legs over the side of the bed before grounding her feet to the ground. Shivering slightly, Caitlin found Barry's old S.T.A.R Labs sweat shirt thrown over the side of the chair. Throwing it over herself, Caitlin crossed her arms over her chest, drawing into herself for warmth.

Silently, Caitlin pulled herself out of the room and silently crept behind the team as she listened in.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

* _Back at S.T.A.R Labs*_

Barry stopped pacing around the room, pulling back his mask he turned to look at Dr McGee.

"So how did you know…" he stammered.

"You're real identity?" she finished his sentence.

"Yeah" he nodded curious.

"Oh come on Barry. I'm a scientist. We're paid to be perceptive." She laughed.

"And you're always too well informed when things go pear shaped in the city." She added.

Barry smiled shaking his head. His father beside him laughing in agreement.

"But I don't think we've ever met before Dr. Christina McGee." She introduced extending a hand out to his father.

"Dr Henry Allen. I'm Barry's father." He smiled, reaching over Barry taking her hand in his. Barry took a step back, his eyes watching over his father with a sudden curiosity.

"Now that the cats out of the bag… did you see who it was that caused your building to collapse." Barry interrupted by clearing his throat as he kept a close eye at their somewhat seemingly innocent interaction.

"I didn't see anything. It happened so fast." She stammered breaking eye contact with Henry and drawing her attention back to Barry.

"Maybe the security cameras saw something?" Caitlin interjected.

Barry threw a look over his shoulder, surprised to see her. Barry moved over to her, as pulled the sleeves of his sweater over her hands anxiously.

"Can we access them?" Henry asked politely, breaking the silence.

Barry snaked his arms around her, his eyes watching over her intently. Instinctively, she drew herself into him, hugging into his body her hand around his waist as her other hand clenched to the side of his shirt. Her fingers hidden beneath the fabric of her sweatshirt.

"Mercury Labs does have a crash survival able memory unit." Dr McGee recounted.

"A what?" Henry asked.

"Virtually a black box for buildings. It would have stored all the security footage right up until the building collapsed." She explained.

"Okay great I'll go find it. This wasn't some random metahuman. Whenever Mercury Labs has been _targeted_ in the past, there has always been a specific reason." Barry emphasised.

"Yeah someone is after something."

"Yes and that someone is probably Zoom." Barry stated.

From the corner of his eye, he caught Caitlin shudder at the sound of his name. Her body tensed up beside him, her grip against his side tightening. Barry pulled her closer to him, reassuring her that she was safe. She peered up at him, her eyes catching his. There was a flicker of a smile before she looked away, her grip never loosening.

"There may be one more possibility. A few months ago I saw Harrison Wells running out of my facility. I know it sounds crazy but I was certain it was him. Is there any way he could have something to do with this?" she probed.

"A few months ago… sure. Now… no." Harry said flatly, taking a sip from his coffee casually.

Barry saw Dr McGee's jaw drop open as she stared at the familiar face.

"Ahh um yeah there are a few more things we could catch you up on Dr McGee." Barry shrugged clearing his throat.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

A bit apprehensive to leave, Caitlin had managed to persuade Barry to leave her side. Reassuring him that she was okay. And that she'd be safe at S.T.A.R Labs. But it was a lie.

Feeling a little disoriented as she looked around her familiar surroundings. She felt lost. Just before she lost herself in the pain and torment of her heartache, Jesse interrupted and asked for her help. Relieved, she welcomed the distraction from her mind. Anything to help the nightmares from consuming her. She nodded with a smile, she needed to keep awake. It was the only way she knew how she could keep the darkness at bay.

As she finished running the last few test on Jesse, Caitlin jumped at the sound of her name.

"Snow."

"Oh I didn't know you were here." Caitlin recovered, looking away trying to act casual as she removed the last few monitors, her hands shaking slightly.

"Watcha doing?" He asked sceptical as he looked between Jesse and her.

"Jesse asked me to run a few tests to see if…" She blurted out before stopping herself short as Jesse shook her head covertly towards her.

" _structural change_ …" she finished hesitantly a little late in catching Jesse's meaning.

"Why did you ask Dr Snow to run tests on you _again?_ " he pressed questioningly at his daughter.

"Ahh because I got hit with the dark matter… and that must have affected me somehow." She retorted.

Caitlin could feel the sudden growing tension. Removing herself from their conversation, she pretended to busy herself with Jesse's test across the room.

"You are not a metahuman." He whispered to his daughter.

"What you are is a young woman with genius level IQ that we could use in our fight against Zoom's new wave of metahumans." He encouraged her.

"Okay. Alright fine." She huffed out.

Caitlin didn't know how she knew but she could almost feel as Jesse rolled her eyes at her father. The thought almost making her laugh.

As staggered across the room, Caitlin placed her hands firm on the cold metal table. Taking a deep breath she lifted her head, a streak of blue lightning flashing before her eyes, her eyes widening as the reflection staring back at her through the glass panel was Zoom. His dark eyes boring into her. Calling out for him to join her. The sudden sight of him made her yelp.

"Snow… you alright?" Harry asked concerned.

Caitlin spun around, Harry was staring at her intently, Caitlin peered back over her shoulder. He was gone.

"Yeah fine." She stammered offering him a weak smile, before turning her back towards them.

Caitlin hesitantly looked back up. Her haunted reflection was all that stared back her. Letting out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding. Caitlin reached out for the table in front of her for support. Shaking she closed her eyes and focused on her breathing.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

Barry returned a short time later, having to search for the black box a more difficult task than he'd anticipated.

"Is this it?" he asked holding up the beaten metal box in front of him.

"That's the one." Dr McGee concurred.

"Dad, Dr McGee…Cisco why don't you guys crack this thing open and see what you can find." He suggested as he handed the box over to Cisco.

"Sure." Cisco nodded as he moved towards with Dr McGee and Henry.

"Let's see what kind of metahuman powers could take down a building like that and stop it." Dr McGee commented.

"Great." His dad smiled as he ogled after her.

"Sounds like fun."

"Okay well I'm going to see if Joe needs help in the streets. Everybody cool here? Should be a piece of cake right?" Barry nodded before turning to leave.

* * *

As Barry manoeuvred through the hallway towards the locker room, his dad came racing behind him.

"Hey slugger can I talk to you for minute?"

Barry stopped, smiling at his father.

"Sure what's up?"

"Well I know what you said what happened to you in the speed force, changed the way you see things. But you seem very optimistic about all the metahumans running around tearing up the city… what did you see the future in there?" he pressed.

"Ha... not exactly. Not this time. What I saw in the speed force, it didn't just change my mind…" Barry paused.

"It changed me. What you're seeing isn't optimism… is for the first time… I'm just not afraid anymore." He shrugged.

"Great." His father encouraged sceptically.

"That's… you know you still have to be careful right?" he finished eyeing his son with raised brows.

Barry looked at his father. Searching his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"You know." He sighed.

"Why are you trying to take something from me that I fought so hard to get to?" Barry raised his voice loudly.

"Barry." His father pleaded.

"You don't know everything I've been through dad!"

"You haven't been here long enough to know." he said in a burst of anger, immediately regretting his words.

"I didn't mean that. I'm sorry I don't know why I said that." Barry apologised shaking his head ashamed.

"I think I do. I haven't been around. Teach you how to drive or take you to college. But I've done everything in my power to get to know _WHO YOU ARE!_ Barry… I don't want to take anything away from you. I believe in you. This is not about me not believing in you."

"I know that. And I'm fine okay. Thank you. Thank you very much for worrying about me. I love you. But I'm fine." He replied backing away from his father.

Suddenly the alert system echoed through the building, breaking the growing silence between them. Thankful for the interruption, Barry gave a weak smile to his father before both of them rushed back into the lab.

As he slowed to a stop, Barry's eyes sought out Cisco and the rest of team.

"What is that?" Henry asked.

"It's CCPD." Cisco replied.

"Zoom." Barry said flatly.

"Barry… don't do it!" His father screamed after him.

But it was too late. He was already gone.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

* _S.T.A.R Labs*_

Caitlin was still frozen. Glued to where she sat, staring out to nowhere. Everything around her moved as normally. It was if she was watching a movie where there was no sound. Nothing else but the painful echo of his name. _Zoom._ His name replayed over and over again in a continuous loop, until her vision blurred and all she could see was Barry running out and leaving.

"We can't let Zoom destroy another building. We need to take him down now!" Barry's voice rang out through the room, bringing her back out of her head.

"And how do you propose we do that, with an army of metahumans laying waste to Central City. We couldn't stop zoom on my earth, what makes us different?" Harry argued back.

"We're a team. We start with the metahumans. They're his armour. We take them down first then Zoom's more vulnerable."

"Barry we don't even know how many minions of his there are."

Caitlin watched as Barry began pacing frustrated up and down the room. His hands on his hips and his head bowed past his shoulders as he thought.

"There could be hundreds. A thousand!" Iris emphasised.

"All of them are working with different powers." Cisco added.

"It could take weeks to try and track them all down."

"Guys we don't have weeks. So what we need to do is come up with a way to stop them all at once." Barry stopped dead in his tracks his voice raising an octave.

"How?" Harry shouted.

Caitlin pushed herself off the chair, striding over towards Barry; she put a hand over his chest, trying to calm him. Barry opened his mouth, but shut it immediately as he looked down at her as she stared into his eyes. She felt as his heart under her hand began tire down into slow steady beats. Barry closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath.

"Cisco…. Your goggles.. Your camera… they didn't work on Earth 2 right?" Barry recalled.

"Yeah it was all different frequency." He accounted.

"And the way you took down the time wraiths that was with a different frequency. Hartley's entire shtick."

"I think I'm smelling what you're serving here." Cisco nodded a smile beginning to stretch out from the corner of his mouth.

"Yeah." Barry sighed relieved.

Snaking his arm around Caitlin, his hand rested around her waist. Caitlin eased herself into the warmth of his body.

"So basically we create some vibrational tech that could take down the earth 2 metas." Cisco explained excitedly.

"Basically." Barry nodded.

"I like it."

"Me too."

"I'll help." Caitlin voiced for the first time.

"I'll let you know if I hear anything from CCPN." Iris agreed, hoping onto her phone and leaving the room.

"Guys. We got this." Barry said optimistically, as he tightened his arm around Caitlin, his eyes falling to her in hopes she could see the reassurance in his eyes.

* * *

 _*Moments later*_

Caitlin stared at the equation filled board before her. Her mind ticking over ways this could actually work. Absorbed in keeping her mind busy and her thoughts at bay, Caitlin jumped as she heard the sharp bang as Cisco threw a pen frustratingly at his own board.

"I thought throwing things was Harry's preferred method for dealing stress." Caitlin gave a weak smile as she joked.

"That's how frustrated I am right now. I—I'm just running out of ideas on how to make this work. Where's Barry? I needed a taste of that walking on sunshine thing he has going on right now." He mused, leaning over his desk tired.

Caitlin smiled slightly, turning back to what she'd been working on, Caitlin yawned, suddenly feeling the exhaustion. The anxiety and fatigue seemed to ratchet up the intensity of emotions. She began to feel something. Panic, maybe, building up in her chest. She closed her eyes to escape, but the flashes of blue lightning and his dark eyes haunted her. Opening her eyes she screamed. He was there. He was right there in front of her.

 _No. No. No. No. No. No._

"Please no!" She screamed pleadingly.

The panic rose fast and hard. She began to hyperventilate. Turning away, she tripped backwards into the white board, staggering away from him as he loomed over her. Her chest began rising and falling rapidly as she fought for a hard time to breathe right.

"Hey, hey, it's me. Breathe, breathe. You're okay. You're shaking." Cisco hushed, his voice strained and concerned as he stared at her, his eyes searching her face.

"I thought I saw him. Zoom. I thought I saw him right there." She blinked, her eyes frantically searching the room around them.

"It's just me. Look at me. He's not here." Cisco reassured her, reaching out for her.

"I see him everywhere." She whispered.

Her whole body went numb. She couldn't feel anything from below the neck. Her knees started to shake as she felt so weak, as if the weight of the pain and fear in her heart seeped into every part of her body, paralysing her until she fell to the ground.

Alarmed, Cisco caught her, easing her gently down, kneeling beside her.

"Look you literally escaped a psychopath who kidnapped you so I think it's normal for you to have a severe reaction like this."

Caitlin shook her head. She felt dizzy as she tried hard to concentrate on the present.

"This is so much worse than that." She confessed.

"I'm afraid all the time. I don't think I can ever move forward." She stammered.

"You will." he whispered.

"WHEN?!" she shouted, furious, the words exploding out of her.

Noticing her short, sharp breathes, she tried to breathe normally. She didn't mean to shout. She looked up at her friend her eyes soft and apologetic.

"Jay took everything from me. My confidence, my trust, my sanity..." she trailed off her voice shaking.

"Did you know that Barry and I were pregnant?" she said her voice so soft it was almost a whisper.

Cisco shook his head, his expression shocked and pained with realization.

"He took that away from me to. I don't think I'll ever be whole again." She cried.

Cisco's expression turned to anguish as he saw something in her break. Reaching out her took her into his arms.

"Of course you will. I promise." He promised.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

As the team, sought out a way to defend their city from the earth 2 metas still roaming secretively in his city's streets, Barry sought out to help by tackling the streets in search for the meta bringing down the city's buildings. It wasn't long before he came to head to toe with a familiar face. Except it wasn't the same person who they knew and loved. It was just another reminder of someone whom they had lost and could never get back. _Laurel._ Or Black Siren as he realized.

After a deafening defeat, Barry managed to escape back to the safety of S.T.A.R Labs.

"Why do so many villains we go up against use sound as a weapon?" Caitlin rolled her eyes as she examined Barry.

"Huh?" he said raising her eyebrows confused.

Barry saw the corners of his wife's mouth twitch into a small smile as she shook her head at him.

"Nothing. You're going to be fine." She replied with a tiny laugh.

Smiling her back, it gave him a sense of relief to see her slightly getting back to her old self. But as he looked into her eyes, he noticed something still seemed off. Her eyes were still red rimmed and swollen.

"Thanks." He mouth as he reached up and planted a sweet kiss on her lips.

"So Wally just drove up into the thick of it?" Joe voiced angry.

"Ahm" Barry nodded.

"Must have been some conversation you two had. Seeing as he did the opposite of what we wanted." Joe grunted.

"This I can hear." Barry mumbled under his breath as he caught Caitlin's eye.

"It's not funny." Joe lectured, his eyes intently burning into Barry's.

"I'm sorry." Barry defended holding up his hands.

"I mean I'm in no laughing mood."

"Look Joe, I tried. I told you I would try right? I… Wally's a determined kid." Barry explained.

"Yeah determined to get himself killed!"

"Or determined to help people and be glad or else I wouldn't be standing here right now." Barry argued for Wally.

Barry watched as Joe crossed his arms over his chest frustrated. His eyes darting left to right as he thought hard.

"He got lucky tonight. I don't want to see the day where he isn't." he said under his breath.

Barry moved over to his father, placing a hand on his shoulder, he forced Joe to look up at him.

"We got more than luck on our side Joe."

* * *

In a desperate need of a shower, Barry made sure everyone was okay before making his way back down to the locker rooms.

"Hey can I talk to you?" Cisco called after him.

Barry spun around, greeted as his friend followed after him, his face tight and grim.

"If this is about my newly found optimism I do-" Barry waved his hand dismissively not wanting to hear it again.

"No, it's Caitlin." He stated.

Barry eyes snapped up to meet his friends, gaining his full attention.

"What about her? Is she okay?" he pressed concerned.

"I don't think she's okay… She's exhausted Barry. She won't sleep. She's seeing things…" he trailed off unsure of how much he should say.

Barry's jaw tightened.

"I'll take care of it. Thanks Cisco." He nodded thankfully as his friend turned to walk away.

Barry stood there for a moment… thinking. _How could he be so stupid?_ After everything he went through in the speed force he just assumed everything was going to be alright. But he was so blinded by what he saw in the speed force, he didn't see just how much his wife was hurting. Shaking his head, Barry threw his hands in his hair. Blowing out a deep breath, Barry pushed forward back to the cortex.

As Barry re-joined the team, everyone seemed to be head deep in their own work he came in unnoticed. His eyes scanned the room to Caitlin. She sat with her back turned, marker in hand as she stared at the board in front of her.

Moving closer, he slid his hands across her body, his head resting on her shoulder. She flinched under his touch before relaxing into his body as she smiled at his reflection in the glass.

"Hey, it looks like everyone's got it covered here. Let's go home. You need some rest and I can definitely use a shower." He said his breath whispering against her ear.

"But…"

Barry stood up, spinning Caitlin around on her chair so that she faced him.

"Don't worry about it. You've done all you can. They'll call when they figure it out."

Barry could see the debate in her eyes, but saw the defeat. Taking her hand he curled his fingers around hers as they made their way home.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

She jolted out of her nightmare to find herself in the dark. Sweat trickled down her face. She raised a trembling hand to swipe it away. Only then realizing it was tears, not sweat that soaked her cheeks. Even though she was safely back, her fear seemed to have magnified a million times over. Knowing that Zoom was still out there.

Looking beside her, the slight glow from the hallway lit up to show Barry still resting peacefully, his chest rising and falling in steady rhythms as he breathed. The sight of him seemed to quiet her down slightly.

Subtly moving out from under his arm, Caitlin made her way quietly across the room and into the bathroom. Stepping into the shower, she forced the memories of her nightmares from haunting her in the present, but the task proved difficult as every time she closed her eyes, the flashes of blue… swallowed her whole… the bleak darkness of his eyes still seemed to consume her, the memories threatening her to remember everything she had lost and everything that she still could lose.

Forcing herself to stay under the hot stream of water a little while longer, Caitlin fell to the ground, bringing her chin to her knees as she stared watching the water circle the drain.

When the water no longer seemed to relax her tense muscles, Caitlin turned the water off and staggered out of the shower.

Throwing a towel around her Caitlin leaned over the basin, beads of water stuck to the exposed areas of her skin. Using her hand Caitlin wiped at the mirror and her eyes rested of the reflection. She looked at herself or someone that resembled her. Instead, the person staring back at her looked haunted. Her eyes were hollow and dark as the girl before her seemed to be fighting for every minute of peaceful sleep. Looking away, Caitlin moved back into the darkened bedroom. Barry still remained fast asleep and unflinching as she edged her way to the other side of the bed, throwing on a clean singlet top and her underwear. Rubbing at the bruises on her wrist Caitlin, took a quick glance back at her husband. Instead of re-joining him, she padded her way down the hallway only to stop halfway. Turning she faced a closed door.

Struggling, she reached out with a trembling hand, her fingers curled around the handle she pushed the door open. Overwhelmed with emotions, Caitlin stepped into the room hesitantly. The darkness she'd been fighting consuming her. She fell to the floor, hugging her knees to her chest; Caitlin closed her eyes in pain. She began to cry.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

Barry wasn't sure what time it was, but the sun still seemed hadn't risen behind the curtains, but the blinding light that had woken had to be coming from somewhere. Forcing himself awake, Barry drew his arm across the sheets to find it cold and empty. With a sudden panic, he jolted upright, his eyes squinting as he found his bedroom door wide open. Barry threw his legs over the bed, his eyes searching the room for her. Barry moved forward towards the bathroom, peering in, he found it empty.

Barry moved quickly into the hallway, his heart pounding as he searched frantically for Caitlin. Barry stopped cold as he heard the gentle sobs coming from the room in front of him.

Barry swallowed hard before following in after her. Barry stood in the doorway of his daughter's room. Caitlin sitting in the middle of the room, her knees tucked in under her chin. Barry's heart broke as he saw her. Reaching out he dropped down behind her. Sliding in around her Barry wrapped his arms around her, holding her to his chest while she wept.

He didn't know how long they stayed as they did before she stopped crying. Barry didn't let go of her, her head leaned into his shoulder. Barry buried his head into her hair.'

"Come on. Let's go down stairs."

Caitlin didn't answer, he just felt as she nodded into his shoulder. Kissing her head, Barry scooped her up into his arms.

Barry placed Caitlin softly onto the couch, as he moved over to the fireplace to start a fire. As the living room glowed, Barry sat himself beside Caitlin, her eyes transfixed at the fire. Barry eyed her warily, rubbing up and down her legs to get her warm.

"Cait…"

"He took everything away from us."

"I know." He said softly.

"Barry he took EVERYTHING!" she cried.

"How can you still… I just don't know how I can…"

"Hey, hey.." Barry whispered shifting over the couch closer to her.

Leaning closer, Barry brushed away the tears spilling over the side of her cheeks.

"When you were gone… just as you were taken I was broken. Not only did he take you but he took…" he paused, his voice catching in his throat.

Clearing it out, he continued. "…He took our child."

The memory caused Caitlin to even cry harder. Barry reached out catching her head as she leaned into his touch.

"You remember how I told you that I was in the speed force?"

Caitlin nodded, her eyes remaining closed.

"I saw her."

Caitlin opened her eyes, staring at him confused.

"Her?"

"Our daughter." He smiled.

"That's how I know that we're going to be okay. That one day we'll have our chance with her. It just couldn't be right now." He explained.

Barry saw the confusion in her eyes.

"I know. It sounds crazy… maybe impossible. But I _know_ we'll see her again. We'll be okay. I promise."

"We've seen the impossible before." She smiled weakly.

"Yes we have." he nodded before reaching out to her and pulling her to him.

Barry leaned back down onto the couch, Caitlin by his side as she rested her head across his chest.

"Tell me about her." She whispered.

Barry kissed her head. "She's beautiful." He smiled to himself.

And as they lay there, staring into the fire, Barry told Caitlin all about their daughter. He just hoped that one day they'd have a chance to meet her and watch her grow.

* * *

* _Later that night*_

And after the chaos, Barry stood with his arm wrapped around. As Barry glance down at her, she seemed a little more like herself. She seemed as though she had found a little bit of herself again. And he was glad. Staring at the splitting image of Laurel, he couldn't help but be reminded of the fight they still had in front of them. But he knew that as long as he had his friends… his family… as long as he had Caitlin. He could do anything.

"What's that? I can't I can't hear you through that double pane soundproofed glass. It's kind of hard to make out what you're… _saying."_ Cisco mocked as Black Siren pounded against her prison.

"So should we tell Sara and Captain Lance about her?" Caitlin suggested, peering up at Barry.

Barry sighed shaking his head. "Nope. I've seen what interacting with your family's doppelgangers can do. And that's not even Laurel."

"Nope it's just a poor imitation." Cisco gave snide remark as he closed the prison doors.

"Speaking of… that was a pretty good Killer Frost you did back there." He nodded in approvingly.

"Guess I was just in the right head space to play a cold hearted vicious killer." She joked half seriously as she punched her friend playfully against his shoulder.

"How you doing? You okay?"

Caitlin took a beat before replying. "No. But I think I'm going to be." She smiled up at him.

"We're going to be just fine." He whispered into her hair before leaning down and kissing her chastely.

"Being out there with you guys, fighting metahumans… saving people… it's the first time I felt normal in a long time." She confessed as she fiddled with her hands.

Barry reached out, his hand grabbing onto hers with a gentle squeeze.

"Come here." He whispers pulling her into his arms.

Caitlin fit perfectly against his body. Her head resting on his chest. Barry drew a sharp breath inhaling deeply as he tightened his arms around her holding her to him.

"It's a group hug…" Cisco smirked as he looked at his friends.

"Yeah." Barry sighed as Caitlin chuckled against him; leaning away both of them released an arm welcoming Cisco into the embrace.

"Alright, alright. I think it's time we head home." Barry laughed as he backed away slowly, pulling Caitlin by the hand.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

As soon as they got home, Caitlin guided her way into the kitchen where she poured herself a cold glass of water. Feeling as the cold liquid hit the back of her throat. Caitlin closed her eyes relaxing as she leaned over the kitchen sink. It had been a long and exhausting day, yet with everything she just went through she felt as if she were starting to get back to where she once was. Yes, she was still broken, but she was no longer hopeless. All the anger and pain she had been coursing through her veins were now easing away. She felt after she was Killer Frost. All that energy and hate that it took to be her, helped her find some sense of peace and healing. For that she was glad. Exhaling softly, Caitlin opened her eyes, a soft smile playing at the corners of her lips as she felt Barry move across the kitchen and come to stand behind her. He wrapped himself around her. Embracing her from behind.

"You okay?" He whispered the sound of concern wedged in his throat.

"I will be." She replied, leaning her head back into his shoulder.

Barry kissed the side of her head softly. "Let's get some rest." He suggested, with a gentle squeeze of his arms.

Caitlin held Barry to her as she shook her head.

"I'm not tired." She said, he voice low and heavy.

Barry didn't say a word. Nor did he move. Yet, she could feel as his heart began beating faster against her back. She inhaled sharply, feeling his hands gently brushing her hair away from her shoulders and sliding down to her hips. His mouth – his soft lips tracing light kisses from the edge to her shoulder up to the nape of her neck until his lips stopped, barely touching the shell of her hear, and then he whispered.

"I've missed you."

His breath was hot and heavy against her skin. In the next second his hands gripped onto her hips, turning her toward him. She faced him. Her hands on his body, her eyes on his… and that grin. His smile made her melt. Suddenly his lips consumed her. His lips were urgent, his free hand twisting into her hair as he held his face securely to his. Caitlin responded with the same need and desperation, her hands gripping onto his shirt as she pulled him closer.

Caitlin felt Barry's hands moving over her body, her arms wrapped around his neck; he lifted her up and onto the counter his lips never leaving hers. She felt as he lips melted against hers, her legs wrapping around his waist pulling him to her in need. Barry bit down on her bottom lip causing her to moan. In one swift motion they were moving. Caitlin tried to relax but her breathing picked up and her heartbeat was so lough she was sure he could hear it. But he didn't care. His tongue slipped between her lips, still cradling her as he moved them to the bedroom. Caitlin clung to him. Her fingers digging into him as she felt his need for her grow as they moved.

Barry eased her carefully onto the bed. Hovering over her, he looked into her eyes, searching. Reaching up she grabbed his lips with hers. He got his answer.

* * *

* _A couple of hours later*_

She stretched awake; her head warm against his chest. She felt the light tingle as Barry traced soft circles on her bare back.

Kissing his chest, she propped herself up onto her elbows smiling at him. Barry lean over, kissing her longingly on her lips.

"You slept better." He whispered against her lips.

Caitlin nodded as she hummed back in response.

"Good because the family is coming over…" he paused before stretching out to check his phone.

"And they'll be here any minute." He smiled as he shifted back to her.

"What?!" she exclaimed surprised.

"Blame Iris!" he laughed, jumping out of bed and rifling through his drawers for a new change of clothes.

"Well I figured since Henry's back for good and that you're back we should celebrate. And since Zoom's gone and the city's quiet for now…" he hesitated before finishing, noticing Caitlin's sudden silence.

Caitlin watched as Barry crawled back over the bed to her. Reaching out her held the side of her face in the palm of his hand. Caitlin leaned into his touch, feeling her muscles relax.

"Iris is right. We have to celebrate the small things. For however long the last."

Caitlin nodded. Barry smiled at her kissing her once again on the lips before leaving to greet everyone who was about to come in at any moment.

Caitlin took a moment. Sighing as she fell back into the pillows. _She could do this._ They were right. They had to celebrate the small wins. Remember the good times. Because god knows it never lasts long. Sighing heavily she got up and began to get ready.

Moments later, Caitlin joined her family now gathered downstairs. There was a boast in laughter and cheer as they all spoke animatedly with a drink in hand. Caitlin caught sight of Iris, greeting her in a hug.

"I appreciate Iris. Thank you." She squeezed.

"Your welcome." She smiled back, handing Caitlin with a glass of water.

"So is it true you saved the Flash's life?" Iris asked her bother with raised brows.

"I… I was just in the right place at the right time." He stammered flushing a slight shade of pink as Jesse glided in beside him.

"I'm proud of you Wally. You did good." Joe commended raising a bottle towards his son.

"Thanks dad." He grinned widely.

"Soups on!" Barry chimed in, placing a large plate of hot food onto the dining room table, before joining Caitlin, his arm resting around her waist.

"Hey taking down a city full of monsters makes a man hungry." Cisco exclaimed, setting aside his beer and striding towards the table fast.

"First a toast." Joe proposed, stopping Cisco short of a hot meal.

His expression falling made Caitlin stifle her laugh.

"To family." Joe toasted.

"To family." Caitlin repeated alongside everyone else.

"That's my kind of toast. Short and sweet let's eat." Cisco shouted.

Caitlin ambled her way to the table, stopping short as all eyes fell on Cisco. He stood paralysed. His eyes glazed over as he stared out of focus.

"Cisco…. What, what is it? What did you see?" Barry asked concerned.

"What do you mean see?" Wally said confused.

"Cisco gets visions." Caitlin explained shortly, her eyes still locked onto Cisco.

"I don't understand." Cisco mumbled to himself.

"What Cisco?" Joe pressed.

"Earth 2 splitting right down the middle… Please tell me I didn't just see the future. Tell me I didn't just see THE END OF THE WORLD!" He shouted fearful.

Everyone in the room went silent. All eyes bounced to another, all searching for an explanation for what Cisco just saw. But before anyone had the chance to open their mouths, a flash of blue lightning flashed across the room. Suddenly, Caitlin was behind Barry, his arm pushing her protectively behind him.

"Our story's not over… Flash!" he sneered as he tore out of the house with Henry by the throat.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

 _No. No. No. No. No._

Barry screamed as he chased after Zoom. Racing through the darkened streets, Zoom lured Barry somewhere he knew. Skidding to a halt. He turned towards the house. His eyes adjusting to the darkness of the street, and in that split second he realises. He was home.

Barry couldn't speak. Every step he took, his legs felt more heavier. His breath hot and heavy came in large pale clouds as he breathed out through his mouth.

"Dad?! Dad?!" Barry called for his father as he stepped through the open door of his childhood home.

"Its poetic returning to your childhood home." Zoom snickered as he held Henry clenched by the throat.

"Jay don't do this. I'm begging you. I'm begin you take me. Kill me!" Barry begged.

"NO!" His father yelled. But Barry couldn't hear him.

He was consumed with the sight… the memory of losing his mother. He couldn't bear if he lost his father too. _No._ He wouldn't.

"You still won't believe me that you and I are the same." Zoom emphasised.

"Come on… come on…" Barry choked.

"Barry… Barry, look at me son. Look at me son." His father pleaded.

Barry shook his head. His eyes darting from his father to Zoom. Tears spilling down the side of his cheeks.

"So I'm going to have to MAKE YOU BELIEVE ME!" Zoom exclaimed. His chest heaving as he shouted out like a madman.

"Whatever happens, you have made me the happiest father…" he smiled at his son.

"Dad..." Barry's voice cracked as he looked at his father, his scalp prickling as fear and adrenaline coursed through his body.

"This time you're going to watch your parent die JUST LIKE I DID!"

"NO! NO!" Barry begged.

"And it's just going to make you JUST LIKE ME!" he voiced loudly, raging at him.

"Your mother and I lo-"

"Jay…" Barry's voice pleaded, taking a step forward but Zoom shot him down with a threatening look. Barry was paralysed. He couldn't do anything. _Take me! Take me!_ He pleaded.

"NNOOOOO!" Barry screamed.

But it was too late. Before he had time to react his father was on the ground. Jay had stabbed his hand through his chest. Stopping his heart.

Barry raced to his father screaming, Barry careless as Jay made his escape. Barry fell hard to his knees, scooping up his father in his arms he pleaded with him to wake up. Shaking him. But he lay still. Motionless.

 _Please. Please. Please. Please._ He prayed as he rocked back and forth. Barry pulled back, his father's shirt now tear stained. He looked at his father, staring in horror. He couldn't breathe. It was if all the air was sucked out of his lungs. The pain was unbearable, just like the first time. His fingers curled around his father as he held onto him tighter. Barry rocked himself back and forth. His jaw tense as he cried in silence. The anger building in his chest. His father remained still. His eyes void and lifeless, staring back at him. Barry tore his head back as he screamed.

 _AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!_


	22. When The Race Is Done

**_So this is it guys. The beginning to the end. It's been a long and Snowbarry filled season. I hope you guys have enjoyed the spin as much as I had writing this. Snowbarry strong!_**

 ** _Thanks for reading and who knows whether or not I'll move into season three... I've left the ending open for the chance to do so... so who knows right? But for now here is the very last episode of season two. I have a little epilogue coming for you guys shortly so stick with me. It's been a blast!_**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own the Flash nor its characters_**

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

 _No. No. No. No_.

"Not again. Please not again. Dad look at me!" he pleaded with his father, but he remained absolutely still.

Barry was in denial. This wasn't happening again. It couldn't.

"DAADDDD! Come on, come on, COME ON!" he screamed as the tears flowed down his cheeks. _No._

"Hey it's alright, come on!" he shook his father.

"Dad…" he choked, but his father never woke. He lay motionless in Barry's arms. Staring at him, with blank eyes.

Barry shook his head vigorously as if trying to wake from a very bad dream. _Dad please._ He begged silently. Praying that this wasn't real. Praying it was all a nightmare. He pleaded with himself to just wake up. But he didn't. His father grew cold in his arms, and the anger set in deep within himself. Barry's jaw tensed. His fist clenched, he eased his father gently to the ground, his hand guiding over his father's eyes so he could rest before he sped out after Jay finding him lingering in the street. He smirked at Barry, his eyes darkening in spite.

"I told you family was a weakness."

Barry's teeth chattered in anger, as the pain radiated through him.

"You feel the anger don't you Flash? And now… the two of us are the _same."_

 _NOOOO!_ Barry grunted, speeding towards Zoom in a furry. Hurdling his body into him, his hands clasping around his collar, slamming him into a tree.

"THERE YOU GO FLASH." He encouraged smugly.

"Use the anger… _just like I did._ " He teased darkly.

Barry hesitated. A part of him pulling him back, in that split second of doubt, Zoom sped out of his grip leading him on a speed chase around the city. Barry followed, his heart pounding his chest. The fresh memory of his father's blank eyes staring at him, fuelling his pain as it forced him to run faster. Reaching out, Barry pulled beside Zoom, knocking him off his feet. They scrambled, fighting each other in a deserted alleyway, until Barry gained the upper hand, throwing Zoom to the ground. Tearing his mask of Barry held Zoom up, the anger pulsing through his veins.

"Barry, embrace your anger. END ME!" he egged on.

Barry screamed. He couldn't think. He couldn't see clearly through the haze of his hatred. Barry drew his arm back, his hand moving at super speed.

As a silent war raged against his heart and mind, a hand shot though Zoom's heart that wasn't his. Barry stumbled back in shock as Jay feel at his feet dead.

"Let me do it for you." Zoom's raspy voice echoed out to him.

Blinking, Barry stood paralysed. Stunned to realise what had just happened. _Time remnant._

"So close Barry, so close." Jay leered as he pulled of his mask, smiling at Barry.

"Another time remanent." Barry breathed out heavily.

"You see Barry… there could be two of you. You just have to be willing to kill yourself."

Barry stepped forward, his eyes narrowing at Jay in confusion and undeniable hatred.

"Yes, you're almost ready." He assessed.

His mouth pulling into an even wider grin he sped forward shouldering Barry backwards down to the ground. Barry winced at the force, propping himself off the ground as he spun as Zoom vanished, Barry fell back onto the ground, his eyes clouding as he let the pain and sudden emotional exhaustion pull him into sudden darkness.

* * *

 _*A week later*_

A dark cloud rolled over the city, not a ray of sunshine prevailed through the darkness of the clouds. Barry stood motionless under an umbrella as the wind pleated the rain hard down against the earth. He stood firmly, his eyes transfixed to the black coffin in front of him. There… his father rested. His eyes dry and red, Barry clenched his hand tighter onto the handle of the umbrella.

 _"… and comfort us today with the word of your promise as we return our brother into the earth and leave us with the hope that one day… we'll meet again."_ The priest concluded, drawing the service to a silent pause.

In that moment of silence all that could be heard was the rain. Caitlin gave a gentle squeeze of his hand, giving him strength. Swallowing hard, he stepped forward.

"Um…" he paused lost.

Barry looked down at Caitlin; she smiled up at him with a small nod. Clearing his throat he looked back forward, gripping onto Caitlin tighter than he's ever held onto someone before.

"My father…" he choked, the heartache building in his chest.

"I'm sorry I… I can't do this." He stuttered.

Caitlin kissed the top of his shoulder. "It's okay babe." She soothed, as he pulled back into her side.

"Henry, umm... Henry has suffered to great losses in his life." Joe started.

"He lost his wife Nora… and he lost Barry. He suffered guilt, embarrassment, ridicule, shame… and everything that comes from being blamed for a crime he didn't commit. Henry Allen was proof that _love_ could get you through the darkest of days. And that love will keep him alive in our hearts." He finished.

Taking cue, Barry release Caitlin's hand, stepping out into the rain he lay down a single red rose for his father. His fingers lingering over the cold, polished wood of this father's bed he closed his eyes as he tried to say goodbye.

"I'm going to find him. I promise you I'll take from him what he took from you." He vowed in a whisper.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

Caitlin cautiously watched over as Barry leaned himself against the window pane, his attention to the quiet street outside. She knew what he was looking for. _Revenge._ She saw his gleam through the reflection of the glass and how they sought out into the darkness looking for that blue flash of lightning. He sought out the colour she knew fuelled that burning hatred deep within his bones. It was the same colour that brought about her nightmares… her fear. As the hum of low whispers and silent conversations dropped and go between people in the dining room, Caitlin was hesitantly pulled aside by Cisco.

"How are you doing?" he prompted.

"I'm fine, Cisco. Thanks." She replied with a small smile. _But it was a lie._ Beneath the façade she was hurting. But she had to be strong. She had to push forward. She had to for Barry. She had to… for Henry.

"How about our boy over there?" he nodded towards Barry who was now in a low conversation with Wally.

Caitlin's attention drifted back over to her husband. She didn't know what to say. How was he? Broken? Hurting? If anyone could relate it was her. God! They'd lost so much already. They'd endured so much pain. It was only because she knew she had him that he reassured her that they could get through anything. But right now… she questioned just how much more heartbreak they could take.

Her mind thought back to that night…

She had seen the light… the hope in Barry's eyes disappear the moment he came back to them. She remembered as he staggered back home, tripping over his feet, he was distraught. He seemed disoriented, as if his vision was blurred and he couldn't keep himself upright. The sight of him, weighed on her as she looked at him in fear. She called out to him. They all did but he couldn't hear them. He was rambling on… inaudible. He kept mumbling through his words that at first they couldn't understand. It wasn't until he had looked up with her, his eyes swollen and red, that she knew just what had happened. She didn't need him to tell her what had happened. She saw it on his face… in his eyes. That look she'd recognised once before. _In herself_. The night she caught her reflection in the mirror. That haunted look. The pain. The loss. The fear and anger. Zoom had taken everything from her. He broke her. And as she saw herself in Barry's eyes she knew… Henry was gone.

Tears were falling down her cheeks, and in that instant, she knelt down beside her husband. Reaching out to him, she cradled his cheeks in her hands. She pulled his head up towards her, her eyes looking into his. Calling out to him to come back to her. She saw a flicker of realization in his eyes.

"He's gone…" he whispered.

"My dad's gone." He cried falling into her arms.

Caitlin sat there with him. Holding him as he cried in loud screams.

All eyes were on them.

The room was silent.

 _Henry was dead._

* * *

Her mind replayed that night over and over again. It wasn't until Barry spoke that broke her out of her mind and back into the room.

"Guys… Zoom's still out there." He took pause.

"We need to come up with a plan."

"The man can crack open breaches to Earth 2… I mean if he could do that, then what else can he do that we don't know about?"

"Right after he killed his time remnant… he told me how I was almost ready?"

"Almost ready for what?" Iris pressed.

"I don't know." Barry shrugged.

"Yep, classic psychopath. Why can't they ever just say what they want to do?" He muttered sarcastically.

"We also got to figure out why I still keep vibing Earth 2 being ripped to shreds."

"Seriously." Joe pointed in agreement.

"It's like I'm watching Transformers in 4D but like ten times more realistic and with much better acting."

"But if you can vibe the future… we need to stop Zoom before that happens."

"I'm going to get some air alright."

"I got it."

For a moment they sat in silence. They just sat. She waited.

"When I was in the speed force… I felt like I had finally come to grips with her death. With not saving her. When I went back. And then… the _moment_ when I'm finally at the place where I can move on. Where I can see a brighter future again… my father is taken from me."

Caitlin just listened.

"How am I ever going to find peace with that?" Barry asked shaking his head, tears pooling in his eyes as he searched hers for an answer.

"I don't know babe. But you're going to have to find a way to do that or it's going to eat you alive."

"I just miss him so much already."

Takes his hand.

"Zoom."

"BARRY NO!"

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

Barry chased after Zoom, everything in his sight blinded by red. Barry skidded to a stop. His breathing raging as he caught sight of Jay looming in the street, just waiting for him. The street was quiet. The houses dark and dormant as people of Central City slept unknowing.

"Bad time Flash?" he smirked.

"I thought I'd give you some time to mourn."

"This ends now." Barry spat back fuming.

"Not yet." He tsked shaking his head.

"There's always _more_ to take Barry." He emphasised.

"You're going to stay away from them!" Barry threatened leering a step closer down the street.

"That's completely up to you."

"What?" Barry whispered his brows creasing together seriously.

"When we first met I told you that Zoom had to be the best. You just didn't realize I was talking about myself." He laughed.

"Is that what this is about?" Barry shouted.

"A _race_ Barry… between you and me. To see who's the fastest. You win and this is over and you get to be the hero."

"I'm not racing you." Barry protested.

"Then you're father won't be the only person you love that I'll take from you." He threatened sadistically.

Barry paused, his hands tensing into fists by his side. Breathing heavy, the risk weighed heavily on him.

"Think about it Flash. All I want to know is who the fastest man alive is on either earth. I'll be waiting." He smiled widely before leaving in a thunderous lighting of blue.

* * *

 _*Back at S.T.A.R Labs*_

It took Barry longer before he met everyone back at S.T.A.R Labs. As he stumbled silently into the room he paused at the door way.

Everyone in the room, unaware of his presence was busy trying to find him. Not until the room grew silent that he realized that all eyes were on him. Barry's mind was racing. His heart beating hard against his chest as the anger and confusion weighed heavily on his shoulders.

Momentarily blinking awake, Barry focused his eyes up gauging the concerned faces in the room.

Caitlin stood in the distance, half hidden behind his friends and family in the room. Her face was engraved with concern and dread. Not until his eyes locked onto hers that he saw a shift in her expression. He noticed her lips draw into a tight line before turning her back to him.

Barry stepped forward, but before he could march further into the room to her, he was suddenly bombarded with pressing questions about where he was.

* * *

* _Moments later*_

"So Zoom wants to race you?"

"He's obsessed with being the best." Barry huffed out.

"Why would we trust him?"

"He just wants to race. You know that actually makes sense in some completely off your rockers sort of way." Cisco assessed.

"That can't be everything that he wants."

Barry shrugged. He knew deep down that a race to see who is the fastest couldn't be all that Zoom was after. They were right. His eyes focused on his feet, he drew his gaze up to find Caitlin head down, her focus on her knotted hands. She'd been silent ever since he got back. Since he impulsively left her alone on the front porch of their house.

"It isn't. This magnatar is being developed by Mercury Labs…. Turns out it can act as a pulsar." Harry explained as his eyes and fingers scoured the internet.

"Woah!" Cisco exclaimed.

"What is a pulsar?" Iris asked.

"It's a power amplifier with a highly magnetised dense rotating core that can be easily weaponised." Harry explained.

"Nah that's not dangerous at all." Iris snorted rhetorically.

With a hard tap on the keys of the keyboard, Harry projected the effects of the magnatar on screen

"That's what happens on Earth Two." Cisco exclaimed pointing towards the monitor.

"This is what happens in my vibes is because of this machine."

"That things powerful enough to destroy a planet?"

"Much more than just a planet if it has the right power source." Harry realised turning to Barry.

"Like what?"

"Like me." Barry sighed crossing his arms across his chest.

"That's why he wants to race. He wants to siphon the energy I create when I run."

"He wants to siphon the energy off both of you." Harry corrected.

"When Jay captured me he said that he used to measure his success by counting the number of victims he had but now he was going to measure it with how many Earth's he conquered instead." Caitlin recounted.

"He just doesn't want to destroy earth two. He wants to take out every other planet in the multiverse."

"How many are there?" Caitlin hesitated asking.

"Infinite."

"Well can he do that?" Jesse asked her voice scared.

"If he can create a breach to earth 2 all on his own…" Joe started.

"He can get to all of them."

"One pulse to destroy them all." Cisco stated with his eyes widening.

"I guess I don't have a choice. I have to race him. I have to win." Barry realised his jaw tightening.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

Tossing up the risk, Caitlin followed not long after Barry into the pipeline.

His back still turned to her, she stopped short just behind him.

"Barry… don't race him." She pleaded.

Barry spun around surprised to see her.

"Cait… it's not that easy." He whispered shaking his head.

Caitlin rushed forward. "Yes it is. You just say no. We'll find another way to stop him together, like we always do."

"And do what… Cait?!" he exclaimed throwing his hands in the air.

Caitlin bit down on her bottom lip nervously.

"What we just sit around and wait for him to kill someone else? Joe… Iris… _You!_ " He shouted, his voice tense.

"No. No way!" he shakes his head vigorously protesting the idea.

Caitlin placed both hands over his chest. Gaining the courage she lifted her head, peering up through her lashes into his eyes.

"He needs you babe." She whispered.

"He needs your speed again to get what he wants. We have the advantage here."

"All I have to do is bet him." He explained his hands covering hers.

"That saves the multiverse. The whole city. All of you. _Especially you_. I won't…" he choked closing his eyes unable to finish his thought.

"I won't let him take you too. Not when I can prevent it." he said his eyes soft as he opened them.

"This is not about just racing Zoom. I'm the reason why you're doing this?" she questioned.

"He…" Caitlin stopped him, sliding her hand out from under his, holding the side of his face in her hand.

"Barry, look at me. He won't. I'm not going anywhere. But if you do this… Please, I can't lose you too. You promised me forever. You promised me always." She begged him, her eyes searching his for the answer that he'd stay.

"I know. I know." He bowed his head avoid her gaze.

For a moment, Caitlin felt her muscles relax. Her heart set at ease. He was listening. As Barry looked back up at her, his eyes were set. She noticed a little darkened. She saw distance in them and it scared her.

"And this is how I'm going to keep that promise. I'm going to make him pay for everything he's done. For everything he's taken. I want to make him suffer and he's going to! That I promise." He vowed taking her hand from his cheek and holding it to together against his chest.

"Listen to yourself Barry. Listen to what you're saying!" She exclaimed slamming her hands against his chest.

"I have to be willing to do whatever it takes. But I'm sorry. I'm going to race him whether you want me to or not." He replied his mind already made up.

Caitlin took a step back, pulling her hands back to her sides.

"And I can't talk you out of it?" she whispered desperately.

"Not this time." He answered with saddened eyes.

Breaking on the inside, Caitlin closed her eyes, fighting back the tears. She felt the warmth of Barry's arms curl around her, holding her close. His grip tightening around her. She felt as his lips kissed the top of her head.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too." She whispered back, reaching into her pocket and injecting him with a tranquiliser.

Barry stumbled back, his eyes wide in surprise. A tear spilled down the side of her cheek as she reached forward catching Barry in her arms as she fell with him to the floor. Cradling him as he slipped into an unwanted unconsciousness.

* * *

* _Moments later*_

Gripping the edge of the desk tight, it took Caitlin a moment to gather her composure. She was doing the right thing. She was doing the right thing. She told herself over and over.

The sound of footsteps. Caitlin took a deep breath in.

"You alright Joe?" she asked concerned.

"Yeah it was a little harder than I anticipated. You?" he replied giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Same." She nodded back.

The memory of Barry's surprise, the bewilderment and betrayal she saw in his eyes it killed her. But she knew they did the right thing. To save the only other person she had left they had to do this. It was for his own good… They were saving his life. They were doing the right thing.

"Yeah and locking up Barry, that was the easy part. Using our plan to take down Zoom, without Barry… that's going to be the hard part… But it's going to be a lot more easier when we know where he is RAMON!" Harry rambled.

"Chill man! I'm working on it!" Cisco shouted back, as he leaned over his desk, working hard on finding a location.

"Work harder." He retorted.

"Got it! He's in the industrial park in Leewood. Gimme dat!" he cheered as he held his hand up for a high-five.

"Yep!" Jesse laughed high-fiving him.

"That is some serious nerd love right there." Iris rolled her eyes laughing.

"Snow… look everyone here would understand if you don't want to go through with this."

"Jay may be a monster but there is a human somewhere inside of him. I've gotten through to that part of him before. I know I can do it again. I want to stop him Harry. For good."

Harry nodded and gave her a warm smile. Caitlin returned the gesture before turning away. She closed her eyes from a brief moment. This was it. Looking down, her hands were shaking. She could feel her heart beating heavy in her chest. A part of her petrified of facing her worst nightmare again. Holding hands together to stop them shaking, Caitlin took a deep breath and told herself. _This was for Barry._ She was doing this to save him.

* * *

* _Back at S.T.A.R Labs*_

She tried to still the rapid beating of her heart as she paced up and the cortex. Joe was gone and it was their entire fault. How were they going to fix this? She thought panicking.

Alert.

Caitlin stopped pacing, her eyes turning to the monitors.

"Barry's not in his cell anymore." Jesse said just as a gust of wind speed through the room signifying Barry.

"Wally!" Iris shouted as Barry dropped him by his side.

"I wasn't just going to stand by and watch this happen." He protested back at his sister.

"You let him take Joe! What the _HELL_ were you thinking?" Barry raged.

"God Allen, there was nothing we could do." He defended.

"YOU COULD HAVE LET ME RACE HIM!" Barry shouted, furious, the words exploding out of him.

"ALLEN! You are not racing Zoom!" Harry yelled back bluntly.

"What are you going to do? Tranq me again?" Barry snorted.

"Don't tempt me." Harry threatened leering forward.

Caitlin instinctly jumped between them, pushing them an arm's length apart. Barry stepped back throwing his hands in the air furious.

"Look I know you guys made a pact to keep Zoom on Earth 2 but you did that without me and Wally. YOU DON'T GET TO DO THAT!"

"Barry look at yourself. You're not okay." Cisco confronted Barry.

"Jay… MY DAD WAS JUST KILLED RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW THAT FEELS?!" He yelled, raging now he was inches from Cisco, standing in front of him shouting like a madman.

Caitlin pulled Barry back by his arm. She forced her voice to stay level. "Watching someone you love die?"

"Cait…" Barry pulled away unable to look her in the eye. He knew she was right.

"Yes I do."

Barry opened his mouth but couldn't speak, instead he raked a hand through his hair frustrated.

"Look Barry, I know how cold and angry and distant that can make you…. But when this happened to me… to us… you're the one who kept me in check. You told me to stop and take a breath and that's what we're all trying to do now. I'm not saying there won't be hard days… and I'm still not okay. But I had you beside me. You told me there was still a future for us… for our daughter... Barry if you do this…" she trailed off, hoping the desperation was too evident in her voice.

"I'm telling you I'm good." He huffed out in denial.

Caitlin threw her hands up in exasperation.

"Really you're good? Cause it seems to me you want to do more than stop Zoom. It seems to me you want revenge and if that's why you're doing this Allen… _You. Will. Lose."_ Harry stated.

"Guys I know you think I can't do this. That I'm too angry but we're running out of time. I have to beat him. And I'm going to. Whether I have your help or not."

And without another look, he turned and left them.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

The decision wasn't hard. There was no other choice to make. He had to race Zoom to save Joe and whether anyone liked it or not, it was the only move they had left. The sun had set over the city and night drew heavy upon them as he and the team set out towards the abandoned industrial park.

"I tell you Jay may be crazy pants but he can pick a venue." Cisco pointed out.

"Brought the whole crew with you huh? Can't say I blame you." Zoom shrugged as he held Joe as a shield in front of him.

"Dad!" Wally shouted, pushing his way through.

"Wally!" Iris called out to him trying to restrain him back.

"It's going to be one hell of a show." Jay laughed.

"Let him go!" Barry ordered.

"After we race." He smiled evilly.

"Cut the crap. We know you're planning on powering up the magnatar so you can destroy the multiverse." Harry yelled.

"Bravo. You've figured it out… almost. I don't want to destroy all of it. This earth is at the centre of the multiverse. It's the access point to every other earth in existence. One trans-dimensional shockwave event and poof."

"Leaving just our Earth. How generous of you." Cisco retorted sarcastically.

"Need some place to hang my cowl." He smirked.

"You might want to say your goodbyes." He laughed flashing away leaving them.

Barry turned back to his family. His heart turning heavy _. If he's plan didn't work_ …

"Don't worry I'm going to save your dad." He smiled reassuringly at Iris.

"No." Wally interjected.

"You're going to save our dad." he smiled.

Barry didn't know the words so he just nodded.

"Get back to S.T.A.R Labs it's safer." He ordered, looking one by one at the faces in front of him. Trying hard to remember all the little things. Just in case.

"No were not going anywhere you've got eyes and ears right here." Cisco replied, standing firm.

Barry admired his friend. Smiling, he glanced beside Cisco to where Caitlin stood. Her eyes locked waiting for him.

Someone out of his view, cleared their throat signalling everyone to step aside, allowing both him and Caitlin a bit of privacy.

"Cait…" he whispered her name.

He didn't know what to say. There was too much.

"I know you th-" he began.

But Caitlin's lips silenced him. Their kiss was hard and desperate. Barry tangled his fingers into her hair, holding her to him. He felt as her tears streaked down the side of her face. Breaking away, he held her forehead to his. Her eyes still shut tight, unwilling to open.

"I'm not leaving you."

"If you die. We die _together_." She cried, he hands clutched around the back of his neck.

"I love you." He whispered his lips grazing against hers.

"I love you too. Just make it back to me." She pleaded, kissing him again.

"Always."

* * *

With a heavy heart walked away from his friends… from his family.

"What are the rules?" Barry yelled, standing a distance away from Zoom.

"One lap. Around the inside of this loop will produce one gigawatt of energy. And I need 500 plus to power up this magnatar enough to do the job. Once it's full I win because once it's up there's no stopping it." he explained with a gleeful smile.

"So all I have to do to bet you is stop you before that happens." Barry replied flatly.

"Yep it's that simple. And if by any chance you decide you don't want to race and more its goodbye to dear old dad number two as well as your little fan club."

"They're not my fan club. They're the reason why I'm running. Why I'm going to beat you."

"Let see what you have Flash."

"Just say when." Said Barry, his jaw tensing as he leaned down into a starting position.

" _Run Barry Run."_

* * *

* _S.T.A.R Labs*_

"So you ran back in time and made a copy of yourself?" Wally asked confused.

"Well… basically. Yes." He shrugged, wrapping his arm around Caitlin as she drew to his side.

"It's called a time remnant."

"It's not something I can do every day but I needed a way to draw the time wraiths out of the speed force hoping that they'd be more upset with what Zoom had done than with me." Barry explained.

Wally looked at him even more confused than before, the sight almost making him laugh. But after everything… after they had won something in him still didn't feel whole.

"It's that what I look like when they start talking science?" Joe pointed to his son.

"Pretty much." Iris nodded her head.

"Don't worry Wally it'll get easier to understand." His father bellowed.

"Well how does that even work?" Wally quizzed still confused.

"Same as when Zoom did it. I ran back in time moments before I left. It's the only way I could be in two places as once."

"Wait… so the time remnant is still you." Wally pressed.

Barry nodded. "Yeah."

"But he died." Caitlin whispered, her voice soft.

"I—he was willing to sacrifice himself for all of us." He replied, turning to her with a small smile.

"That's how much he loved us." She beamed, reaching up and kissing him softly on the lips.

"You know what… we can forget about it. Barry I'm glad you're okay." Wally shook his head reaching out and giving Barry a firm handshake.

Barry smiled warmly, taking his brothers hand.

Behind them Cisco and Harry loudly squabbled as they fussed over releasing Jay's prisoner from his iron mask. Finally the longing mystery will be solved.

"I don't know which is more annoying being in that thing or listening to you two arguing about it."

Barry's heart dropped. _That voice._ Dropping his hand around Caitlin, Barry spun around at the sound of his father's voice. _It couldn't be!_

Barry couldn't breathe. It was if someone had drawn out all the air in his lungs. _This couldn't be real_! He cried internally as he saw a splitting image of his late father standing in front of him. _No._

"Ummm you're…" Barry mumbled, his expression becoming anguished.

"I'm Jay Garrick. The real Jay Garrick." He introduced.

Barry opened and shut his mouth. No words find a voice. _How was this happening?_ He questioned as he stared taken back.

"What?" Jay asked.

"Sorry I'm sorry…" Barry stuttered choking on his words as he tore out of the room so fast.

* * *

Barry couldn't see straight. All he could picture was his father… the real Jay Garrick. _How could this be real?_ His mind kept rotating over and over again. Leaning against the wall, Barry drew in a deep breathe, trying to remember how to breathe. Sliding down the wall, he let his head fall into his hands. His heart ached. His lungs burned. He felt broken.

With a slight touch upon his arm, he snapped his head up to see Caitlin, kneeling beside him, her face engraved with concern and grief.

"He looks just like him. He looks just like my dad. Joe I can't believe this my dad told me… he told me that his mom's maiden name was Garrick… I just never thought that… that… tha—that it—" Barry rambled franticly.

"Babe, I know…" she said softly.

"But he doesn't know that. He doesn't know that he's your dad's doppelgänger."

By this point, Barry's breathing had become laboured. It was if he was having a panic attack.

"Okay, okay." She tried soothing him.

"Did you want me to tell him you had to leave?"

"No. No." Barry stuttered, bowing his head back down

"Sure?" she pressed her voice tense and strained.

"I just need a minute. I'll be alright." He smiled back at her, trying to hide his pain.

* * *

 ** _Caitlin's POV_**

Caitlin fidgeted with her hands. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't stop staring. Seeing Henry… Jay… it hurt her heart. As much pain as she was in, she knew Barry was in a new world of pain unparalleled to what she was feeling right now, and just that knowledge broke her.

She left Barry for a moment to recollect himself. She didn't want push him. She knew that he just needed time. Hell, with everything she'd been through and the time she's had to handle it all… she still wasn't okay.

"So the reason you didn't have your powers is because there was a dampener in the mask you see?" Cisco reapproached Jay handing him over the helmet as he pointed out something inside.

"I don't want to see this thing ever again." He gritted his teeth, as he used his speed to destroy the helmet into a million pieces.

Caitlin continued to watch over in silence.

"So your powers are back?" Cisco noted.

"I see Jay… excuse me Hunter stole your colour scheme too?" Joe pointed out to his suit.

"Took a lot of things that were mine. Except for that. That's all him." He indicated to the helmet poised on the table besides Harry.

"He said it was his fathers from the war." Iris explained.

"Ironically on my Earth… our earth this helmet stood for hope." Harry said fumbling with the helmet between his hands.

Jay nodded… stepping forwards and reaching for it.

"Maybe I can continue that sentiment. Take something from him a change. Make it my own." He voiced placing the helmet perfectly on his head.

Caitlin smiled. "It suits you."

"Thank you. All of you, from saving me from Zoom. Especially you Flash." He thanked as he nodded to someone behind her.

Caitlin turned around. She hadn't noticed when Barry had re-joined them. Extending her arm, she reached for him, interlocking her fingers with his, he stepped forward beside her. She felt he tightened his fingers a fraction around hers, finding himself some courage.

"You're welcome Flash." He said his voice a little detached.

"Now all I have to do is find my way home." Jay huffed out.

"And where is that exactly?" Wally quizzed.

"I think you might call it earth 3."

"Well I can get you to earth 2." Cisco shrugged.

"Me and my daughter can help you with the rest of that." Harry added.

"We can?" Jesse bounced.

"We're going home." He smiled back at his daughter.

* * *

 ** _Barry's POV_**

Barry watched over his family. His heart and mind torn. Broken and confused Barry needed clarity. He needed air. Silently breaking away from the conversation, Barry snuck out onto the front porch.

Taking a deep breath, Barry let the clean crisp air hit his lungs. The sharp cold sensation was what he needed to clear out his mind. Taking a seat on the front steps, Barry stared unfocused out onto the quiet street. It must have been early morning as the sky was still dark.

It wasn't long until, the front door creaked opened behind him and a set of footsteps drew closer to him. They stopped short beside him. Barry didn't have to look up to know who it was. Just the scent of her, he knew it was Caitlin.

She sat down beside him, not a word spoken. He loved how she could say so much without saying anything. The thought of he loved her made him smile and in that moment, he reached out beside him, grabbing her hand and intertwining her fingers with his. She felt the warmth of her skin radiate into his.

As the cold air swept by them, Caitlin shivered against the cold. Barry brought her hands up to his lips, cradling them between his hands as he blew hot air trying to warm them up. Caitlin snuggled closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder as they both looked out into the night.

"Can't stop thinking about my dad's doppelganger." He whispered at first.

"I keep seeing him, knowing that he's out there should have made it easier but it doesn't. It just made me miss him even more." He confessed.

"I can't imagine how hard that must have been." She replied her voice gentle and sweet.

"The thing is you do." He said, shifting so that he could look at her.

Caitlin didn't say anything. She looked at him for a moment and turned back towards the empty street.

Barry smiled at how strong and resilient she was. It surprised him how she was still standing with everything she's gone through. He faltered wondering if he had the same strength to keep moving forward. At this point, it hurt too much he didn't know if he had any strength left to keep fighting.

"I just keep thinking we won." Barry started again.

"We bet Zoom but why does it feel like I just lost?"

This time it was Caitlin, who looked at him. Barry tilted his head, looking at her. Her eyes searching his.

"Because you've lost a lot in your life Barry… more than most."

"It will break you. But maybe you and me, it's all we need. And things will get better." She paused, hesitating.

"I have to believe that." She whispered almost as a prayer.

"You're all I need too…" he trailed off.

"But right now I feel so hollowed out inside right now, I've never felt more broken than I've been in my life, and if I'm going to be worth anything to you… I'm going to have to try and fix what's wrong with me. I need to find some peace." He cried, closing his eyes pained to even look at her.

Caitlin pulled away her hand from his. He felt the cold invade the warmth that once was and he was forced to look up at her. Her eyes were fierce as she locked onto his. She reached out, touching his cheek with her hand. He leaned into her touch.

For a moment, he could only wait as she remained silent… thinking of what to say.

"Listen to me…" she begged.

"For better and for worse I'm yours…"

Barry sighed into her. Her words knew how to break him.

"No matter how long it takes… whatever you need I'll still be here. You're not alone Barry. Even if you want to be." She paused.

"Soo…" she sighed.

"So do what you need do just promise me you'll come back to me and I'll be right here." She smiled.

Barry could see she was trying to be brave, she was trying to be strong, but he could see in her eyes they tears she was fighting so hard to hold back.

Barry didn't know the words to say. To make him whole he knew he was going to have to break her heart whether she knew it or not.

Leaning into her touch, Barry held her hand to him. His watering, he reached out desperately, slamming his lips to hers. The kiss wasn't forceful but it was urgent and fuelled with need.

He couldn't help as a tear spilled down his cheek between them. _How could he say goodbye?_

"Come with me." She whispered breathless.

Barry watched as she stood up, reaching down she extended out an open hand. Barry looked at her. His heart aching in pain. Taking her hand, she led them back inside the house. Her eyes never leaving his as she climbed the stairs backwards, her eyes searching his.

As her back hit the door to his old bedroom, she reached behind her for the door knob.

Barry reached her hand, stopping her as she held the handle.

Her face turned confused. Barry looked at her, trying to memorised every speck of freckle, the crease between her forehead she looked at him confused, and the way she bit her bottom lip nervously. Her eyes were searching his scared. Questioning why he stopped. If she knew it would break her heart.

Leaning down he pressed his lips to hers. Without hesitation she kissed him back, her mouth opening, giving him access to go deeper. Barry released her hand over the handle, his hands caressing both sides of her face, holding her to him. His kiss deepening, long and desperate. Breathless, Caitlin finally opened the door, both of them stumbling into the dark, neither one of them breaking apart.

"Barry…" she whispered against his lips.

* * *

* _Moments Later*_

Tangled under the sheets, Barry hovered over Caitlin as she slept nestled on his arm, her fingers knotted with his. Barry watched the even breathes she took as her body rose and fell as she slept.

Hesitantly, he slowly untangled himself from her, stiffening when she shifted and fell back to sleep. In agony, Barry leaned over brushing a strand of hair clear from her face.

"I'll make things right." He whispered.

"I'll fix everything and I promise I'll make it back to you... Wherever I am, know this…" he paused leaning closer to her ear.

"You are my home... and I love you." He cried.

Brushing the back of his hand gently against her cheek, Barry placed a gentle kiss by her temple. He lingered there for a moment.

Then opening his eyes, his resolve was set.

"I'm sorry." He confessed, his lips brushing against her ear and before she could wake he was gone.

* * *

 **One last chapter...**


	23. Epilogue

**_A big thank you to everyone who has come on this journey with me! I've had a blast writing up this alternative world I wish was actually expressed on the show._**

 ** _I hope all of you enjoyed the tale I've told and I'm grateful to all those who are just as invested in this story and these characters as I am._**

 ** _Not sure when I will be back to continue this story or if I will. Who knows there are other ships and stories tell. But for now this is goodbye and and early Merry Christmas!_**

 ** _Hope you all enjoy this last chapter. Peace out!_**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own the Flash or its characters_**

* * *

 ** _Epilogue_**

 _ **Barry's POV**_

Barry shook awake, his eyes peeling around the room. He was in his lab at CCPD. Rubbing his eyes, Barry adjusted the watch on his wrist checking the time. It was late in the afternoon, he must have fallen asleep. Unsure of how he got there Barry pushed himself upright, taking in his surroundings. Everything seemed the same, yet there was a nagging feeling that everything was different. Just like a freight train had hit him Barry, began to remember everything in pieces. The memory of losing his father… his unborn child… Barry felt his heart fall to the pit of his stomach as the agony began to bear its weight on his soul. Remembering he had made the excruciating decision to give up on his life and travel back in time, Barry threw on his coat, racing out… braving the cold as he searched them empty street, deciding which way home. With no clear recollection of this new life, Barry needed to see if he did it. If he actually saved his mother… his family… or had it all been a dream. Turning up the collar of his favourite coat, Barry sped forward, tearing through the streets towards home.

It only took him seconds before he reached the front door of his child home, he stood there momentarily staring into the dark wood, unsure of what kind of life he'd discover on the other side. Hesitantly, Barry reached out to the handle, pausing only for the smallest moment. Taking a deep breath, Barry pushed the door ajar, the sweet scent of a home cooked meal filling his senses. With his heart beating hard and loud, Barry allowed the image of the warmly lit rooms fill his mind. The place seemed so much fuller and warmer than he could have ever remembered. Shutting the door quietly behind him Barry could overhear the light chatter of voices singing down from the kitchen. Curiously, Barry took a step forward before the high screeches of a beautiful brunette girl came screaming down the stairs and towards him.

"DADDY DADDY!" she cried barrelling towards him, before wrapping her small little arms around his legs.

Barry instinctively looked to the sides and back of him, his eyes looking for someone else, but was startled when he took a moment to register what she had just said… _to him._ Looking down at the distraught little girl, Barry smiled. Kneeling down so he could properly see her, Barry reached out wiping away her tears with his thumb, as he cradled the side of her face with his hand. He noticed she was so tiny. She couldn't have been more than 2years old. She had long luscious untamed curls that hung down to her shoulders framing her face. Her big brown eyes, pooled with tears as she stared straight into his soul. The resemblance to her mother was uncanny. Her mouth twisted down into a frown. In that moment, his heart broke seeing her so sad. He knew in that moment that he'd do anything for that little girl. And in that moment, it was as though he had fallen in love all over again.

"What's the matter baby girl?"

"Mommy said I couldn't have another cookie until after dinner." She sniffed as she rubbed her eyes obviously tired from a day of playing.

"Oh no. Let's go see if we can't change her mind. Where is she?" The little girl jumped into his arms, a big smile on her face as she pointed the way of the kitchen.

It warmed Barry's heart to see her smile. Cradling her at his him, Barry kissed her on top of her hair as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, nestling her head on his shoulder. Barry tightened his arms around her, instinctively protective of anything that could possible break his little girl's heart.

Making his through the living room, Barry stopped where he stood. Stunned by the unsure sight of his mother.

"There you are! My beautiful baby boy…" Nora chimed kissing her son on the cheek.

Barry froze. _Mom?_ He couldn't help but stare at the woman he had longed to see. Could this real? Or was he dreaming? If he was he sure didn't want to wake up. Barry smiled up at his mother who unaware of his longing to see her, was cooing the little girl wrapped in his arms.

Barry was speechless, his mouth dry as he was lost for words. All he could do was stare in awe. _He couldn't believe it! Mom!_

"What's wrong? Bad day at work?" she asked her voice a bit concerned.

Unsure if he could find his voice, Barry opened his mouth to speak surprised to hear his voice so clear and normal.

"Ahh… nothing." He said clearing his throat and blinking away the tears pooling in his eyes.

"You sure Barry?" She pushed, her eyes crinkling together in seriousness.

"Yeah mom… Everything's perfect." Barry sighed happily as his mother reached out to him gently grazing his cheek.

Barry closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of his mother's touch ease away the numbing feeling of her loss so many years ago. As he leaned into her hand, Barry opened his eyes, still surprised that above his fear of her leaving she was still there in front of him.

"Okay." She nodded, turning her attention to the little girl nestled in his shoulder.

"And how is my little angel?" She cooed as she gently rubbed her hand on the toddlers back.

Barry tilted his head down to see his little girl stir in his arms, rubbing her eyes as she yawned.

"Looks like she had a big day." Barry smiled as she kissed her forehead.

"Here, let me take her… I'll put Charlie down I think help is needed in the kitchen."

Barry handed over his daughter gently towards his mother. He watched as she moved around him, crossing the living room and towards the stairs. Before they managed to vanish from sight, Barry stepped forward finally finding his voice.

"Hey mom!" he called after her.

"Yes Barry." She smiled back him.

"I love you." He breathed.

Barry watched as his mother's eyes warmed and her smile stretched further across her face. "I love you too my baby boy."

And with those words she continued up the stairs and out of view.

Barry continued to watch the empty space after them. Half hoping she'd come walking back down. He didn't want to lose her again. Barry was caught up in his thoughts he jumped when her heard someone scream from the kitchen.

Racing around the corner Barry saw her long brown hair, her slender frame hunched over the kitchen sink.

"Ow…" she cried.

Barry's heart pounded at the sight of her. Seeing her there… something in him woke up. His mother… his daughter… his wife…. He was home.

"Hey you're home!" Caitlin exclaimed as she jumped around to see Barry standing behind her.

"I'm home." He beamed back.

"We'll about time!" she laughed placing her hands firmly on either side of hips.

"I'm sorry." He joked, raising his hands to defend himself.

Smiling Caitlin shook her head; turning back she reached her hand under the tap running her burnt finger underneath cold water.

Barry took a moment. He needed to recollect himself. He had everything he needed. He did it. Closing the distance between them, Barry curled his arms around her waist. Nestling into her hair, Caitlin leaned back into him, humming as a smile pulled up at the corner of her lips. Turning in his arms, she locked her fingers around his neck, pulling him down to her lips.

Her lips were soft and warm.

Suddenly Caitlin pulled away, wincing she looked down.

"Wha—What's wrong?" he panicked, holding her back assessing her, searching her eyes.

Barry's heart quickened. He examined her trying to figure out what was wrong. As he opened his mouth to ask again, he expression changed. She looked up at him and smiled broadly.

Barry's brows creased in confusion. She laughed a little at his pained expression. He searched her eyes wondering what was so funny. He followed her gaze as she looked down to her stomach, her hand gliding over stopping on her side.

Barry looked at her stomach and then back up at her. _She was pregnant._

Barry felt the joy rise in his chest. _They were pregnant._ Unable to contain his happiness, Barry kissed Caitlin squarely on the lips. He could feel her mouth twitch into a smile.

"Looks like he's going to be a handful." She mused as she pulled away.

 _He?_

"A boy?" he asked, tears prickling at the corner of his eyes.

"Found out today at the doctors."

Barry was speechless. He couldn't believe he had everything that he had lost and more. Closing his eyes, he shook his head in disbelief. He refused to open his eyes, afraid that if he opened them he'd wake up from this dream.

"Hey, hey open your eyes." She laughed.

Barry just shook his head, leaning his forehead to hers, his eyes still glued shut.

Barry felt as her cool fingers grazed across his skin, the palm of her hands cradling his head pleading him to open his eyes and look at her.

Ever so slowly, Barry reluctantly peeled his eyes open, his heart beating fast in his chest as he drew in a deep breath. When his eyes connected with her soft brown eyes, Barry smiled.

"You okay?"

He couldn't speak. He just nodded. _Everything's perfect._

"Oohh" Caitlin flinched, her eyes crinkling together.

"What?"

"Nothing." She laughed her hand reaching down to her stomach again.

Caitlin automatically reached out grabbing his hand and placed it over to where hers just was. A first there was nothing… then all of a sudden Barry felt a beat against his hand. And then another. Barry couldn't explain it. His mouth dropped open as he waited in between heart beats for the next kick. Smiling broadly he looked up towards Caitlin, tears pooling in his eyes.

This was it. He finally felt as though he could find peace. He had everything. He was home.

 _ **THE END. :'(**_


	24. Update

Hi there guys!

It's been a long while since I've been around but I come with good news. Since so many have requested a season three, I have decided I shall make good on those requests. It may take a while as I'll be only be writing when I have time off work and such but I just wanted to let you know part three is already in the works. You'll get the first chapter or couple of chapters soon.

Until then. Enjoy re-reading the First two chapters of this Evolution of SnowBarry and I hope you guys enjoy what I've been writing for them next.


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